The new round of negotiations comes amid a long history of delaying tactics by the Russian side as the fighting in Ukraine grinds on.

Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv that he will be in Ankara on Thursday to conduct the negotiations. He plans to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the two will wait for Putin to arrive, he said. Zelenskyy said that if Putin chooses Istanbul to hold the meeting, then both leaders will travel there.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would attend talks with Russia on the war in Ukraine this week only if Vladimir Putin is also there, and goaded him by saying the Russian leader was scared to meet him face-to-face.