The announcement appears to preclude any kind of top-level meeting or breakthrough ahead of the 50-day deadline for an agreement given by President Donald Trump.

Delegations from Moscow and Kyiv discussed the possibility of a meeting between Ukrainian President and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during talks in Istanbul this week, Volodymyr Zelensky said in comments released Friday.

The Kremlin ruled out a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before achieving major progress on a peace deal, raising doubt on ending the war before President Trump’s proposed 50-day deadline.