Dhaka, May 16 -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that his country is committed to ending the war with Russia but he urged dozens of European leaders to ramp up sanctions if President Vladimir Putin continues to play for time in talks aimed at securing a truce.

Russia and Ukraine were holding their first direct peace talks in three years, in the Turkish port city of Istanbul, but officials and observers expected them to yield little immediate progress on stopping the more than three-year war, AP reports.

Russia-Ukraine war is top of the agenda as European leaders meet in Albania on security concerns

"Ukraine is ready to take all realistic steps to end this war," Zelenskyy told leaders gathered for a summit of the Eur...