President Tayyip Erdogan told Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Ankara on Thursday that Turkey was ready to host him and Russia's Vladimir Putin for peace talks "when they are ready", his office said.

Delegations from Moscow and Kyiv will be in Istanbul Friday for what could be their first direct meeting on the conflict in Ukraine since 2022, but the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin leaves little hope for progress in ending the war.

President Volodymyr Zelensky's meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, began in Ankara on May 15, Turkey's state news agency Anadolu reported. The meeting is taking place ahead of potential peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegates in Istanbul.