New Delhi, May 15 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump will skip the first direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv in three years on Thursday. Instead, the Kremlin will be represented by a delegation of seasoned technocrats in Turkey. Here's look at the top developments:

While Putin had never confirmed he would attend in person, there were high speculations around it as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged him to join the peace talks.

Kremlin on Wednesday said the delegation would include presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky and Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin.

After the Kremlin's delegation announcement, a US official said Trump would not attend - days after saying that he was co...