Teams from Russia and Ukraine meet for face-to-face talks in Istanbul

Moscow and Kyiv plan to start a new round of negotiations in Istanbul on Tuesday, some four and a half weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine started.

The delegations from Russia and Ukraine will meet at the Dolmabahce Presidential Office in Istanbul on Tuesday morning at around 0730 GMT, according to the Turkish Presidential Office.

The Turkish side will meet each of the delegations before the talks begin, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after a Cabinet meeting in Ankara. He reiterated his hope for an early ceasefire.

Erdogan said he was in telephone contact with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Turkish leader said things were moving in a "positive direction."

The negotiators from Ukraine and Russia have already met three times in the border area of Belarus, with further talks held via video link.

The negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations are proving to be extremely difficult.

Kyiv wants a withdrawal of Russian troops and security guarantees.

Moscow is demanding Ukraine renounce NATO, recognise breakaway eastern Ukrainian separatist regions as independent and recognise the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed in 2014, as part of Russia.

Ankara maintains good relations with Moscow and Kyiv and sees itself as a mediator. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov already met in Turkey on March 10.

However, the talks in the city of Antalya did not lead to any significant progress.    (dpa)