After dangling the possibility of his attendance, Trump says he will stay away but still wants to meet with Putin, further weakening the Istanbul talks.

Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have stepped up in recent weeks. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

President Donald Trump held a high-stakes call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday over the war in Ukraine.

Russia and Ukraine are poised for their largest prisoner exchange, with both countries submitting lists of 1,000 names for release. The details were confirmed by Russia's Interfax news agency. While the agreement was reached during talks in Istanbul,

Russia accused Ukraine of trying "to put on a show" around ... Zelenskyy said he himself would also not now go to Istanbul and that his team's mandate was to discuss a ceasefire.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that Kyiv and its partners were considering arranging a high-level meeting between Ukraine, Russia, the United States, European Union countries and Britain as part of a push to end Moscow's war in Ukraine.

Russia has provided Ukraine with a list of 1,000 prisoners of war for a potential exchange, as per the Kremlin. This development follows direct talks between the two nations that occurred in Istanbul,

As President Donald Trump prepares for crucial calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, his administration faces ongoing talks to secure trade deals.