Russia and Ukraine hold their first direct peace talks in 3 years amid low expectations

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks in three years Friday, gathering in Istanbul for Turkish-brokered negotiations, but officials and observers expected them to yield little immediate progress on stopping the more than three-year war. A Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov sat down with a low-level Russian team headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Ty