Washington, May 17 -- Russia and Ukraine on Friday held their first direct peace talks since the early weeks of Moscow's 2022 invasion, gathering in Istanbul for Turkish-brokered negotiations that officials and observers expected to yield little immediate progress on stopping the 3-year-old war. While the two sides were sitting at a U-shaped table for talks, they are far apart in their conditions for ending the war. US President Donald Trump, who has pressed both Moscow and Kyiv for an end to the conflict, saying a meeting between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin would happen "as soon as we can set it up.""I think it's time for us to just do it," Trump told reporters in Abu Dhabi as he wrapped up a trip to the Middle East. In Istanbul, a Ukrainian delegation led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov sat down opposite a low-level Russian team headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, according to Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi, who published a photo of the meeting. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan opened the session by urging the parties "to take advantage of this opportunity," adding that it was "critically important that the ceasefire happens as soon as possible." A senior Ukrainian official close to the talks said that Kyiv's delegation was prepared to "achieve a lot today" and had a mandate to resolve key issues. The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to make official statements, said the outcome hinges on whether Moscow is equally serious. During the talks, however, Moscow introduced "unacceptable demands" that had not been previously discussed, including calls for Kyiv's forces to withdraw from large swaths of territory they control so a complete ceasefire to be implemented, the official said. He said the Ukrainian side reiterated it remained focused on achieving real progress - an immediate ceasefire and a pathway to substantive diplomacy, "just like the US, European partners, and other countries proposed," the official added. Both countries engaged in diplomatic manoeuvring this week as they tried to show Trump that they are eager to negotiate, although he has expressed frustration over the slow progress and threatened to punish foot-dragging. On Thursday, Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to meet face-to-face in Turkiye. Zelensky accused Moscow of not making a serious effort to end the war by sending a low-level delegation. Ukraine has accepted a US and European proposal for a full, 30-day ceasefire, but Putin has effectively rejected it by imposing far-reaching conditions. Commenting on a possible Trump-Putin meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that top-level talks were "certainly needed," but added that preparing a summit would take time....