India, May 16 -- Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Turkey's Istanbul on Friday, marking the first time the two nations are directly engaging at any level since 2022.

The Ukrainian team is being led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, while the Russian side is headed by Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky, CNN reported.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is chairing the meeting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky or Russian President Vladimir Putin are not attending the meeting.

Speaking on Putin's absence from the meeting, Zelenskyy wrote on X, "I addressed the European Political Community Summit. This week, we had a real chance to move toward ending the war - if only Putin hadn't been afraid to come to Turkiye. I was there rea...