Russian negotiators have arrived in Türkiye to hold peace talks with Ukraine on July 23, the Kremlin has said, before what will be the first direct discussions between the two sides in more than seven weeks.⁣ ⁣ Russia played down expectations of any breakthrough at the meeting, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week should focus in part on preparing a summit between himself and President Vladimir Putin.⁣ ⁣ ‘Naturally, no one expects an easy road. Naturally, this will be a very difficult conversation. The projects (of the two sides) are diametrically opposed,’ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.⁣ ⁣ Previous talks in Istanbul on May 16 and June 2 led to the exchange of thousands of prisoners of war and the remains of dead soldiers.⁣ ⁣ #ukraine #russia #turkey #türkiye #kremlin #peace #peacetalks