Russia and Ukraine’s first direct talks in three years began Friday with hopes as dim as the gray Istanbul skies.

Ukraine rallied support from its Western allies on Friday after Kyiv and Moscow failed to agree to a ceasefire at their first direct talks in more than three years, with Russia presenting conditions that a Ukrainian source described as "non-starters".

By Tom Balmforth ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Russian negotiators at peace talks in Istanbul demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of all the Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow before they would agree to a ceasefire,

Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war from each side, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov told Ukrainian TV on Friday as talks in Istanbul ended. If the exchange goes ahead, it would be the biggest prisoner swap in more than three years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia and Ukraine agreed Friday to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, the head of Russia’s delegation Vladimir Medinsky said after their peace talks ended. Such an exchange would be their biggest POW swap since the start of the war in 2022.