The Russian president faced pressure from Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky to travel for the talks in Istanbul on Thrusday.

Each side is seeking to call the other’s bluff by demonstrating they alone want peace while the other is the obstacle.

U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were still "maybes" for what could be the first direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years after the Kremlin on Wednesday held off disclosing who would represent Russia.