Russia and Ukraine are starting the first direct peace talks since 2022

Ukrainian and Russian negotiators were about to meet on Friday for the first direct peace talks between their nations since the start of the war, after days of confusion and theater.

Negotiations are not expected, even by foreign leaders like President Trump who called them, to give important results. But the meeting itself is a victory for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who refused to accept a ceasefire on the battlefield that Ukraine and almost all of his Western donors had asked for a pre-appraisal condition.

Last weekend, Mr. Putin announced that he would send a delegation to Istanbul for negotiations. Trump rang in what he supported the idea. The Russians arrived in the Turkish city and announced Thursday that they were ready to speak.

The situation exerted pressure on President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who had tried to bring Mr. Putin to meet him personally in Türkiye for negotiations and also tried to bring Mr. Trump.

Mr. Zelensky questioned the seriousness of Russia and the way in which talks were organized. But he agreed to send a Ukrainian delegation led by his Minister of Defense, saying that he was doing it out of respect for Mr. Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“There is no meeting time, there is no agenda of the meeting, there is no high -level delegation,” said Zelensky on Thursday after meeting Mr. Erdogan. “I think Russia’s attitude is not serious.”