U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of "dragging his feet" and obstructing peace efforts in Ukraine after Putin declined to attend face-to-face talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey,

A low-level Russian team has been dispatched to Istanbul, but direct talks with Ukraine are still uncertain.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that if President Trump attended the talks, it would put pressure on Russia’s leader, Vladimir V. Putin, to meet face-to-face.

Moscow’s massacres of Ukrainian civilians blew apart any semblance of good faith as Washington pushed for talks

The absence of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump from the talks has dampened hopes of a significant breakthrough in resolving the conflict.

Vladimir Putin is afraid over being assassinated if he meets with Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey on Thursday.The 72-year-old tyrant has escalated security measures and remains ensconced within his Kremlin stronghold,