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.

US President Donald Trump 's decision to cut the deadline for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is a show of strength that could bring peace closer. This was reported by Charter97.org with reference to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on social network X.

Vladimir Putin has refused to meet Volodymyr Zelensky unless a peace deal is on the table ready to be finalised.

Russian forces, meanwhile, pounded four Ukrainian cities in nighttime attacks that officials said killed a child.

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.

President Trump said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will hold peace talks, but Russia said not to expect that soon. "It's going to happen," Trump told reporters,

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.

Dmitry Peskov's statement comes as the 50-day deadline approaches for U.S. President Donald Trump to potentially impose sanctions on Moscow if Russia fails to agree to a peace deal.

The Kremlin said yesterday that a summit between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky could only happen as a final step to seal a peace deal. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that it was unlikely that such a meeting could occur by the end of next month,

Russian President Vladimir Putin is “not ready for compromises” to end his brutal war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told The Post in an exclusive interview on Wednesday — but President Trump has the power to bring him to his knees by speeding up tough sanctions that could cause a “social explosion” in Russia.