'No handshake' as Ukraine, Russia delegations meet for peace talks

A service member of pro-Russian troops walks near an apartment building destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine March 28, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

ISTANBUL/KYIV OUTSKIRTS/MARIUPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met in Turkey on Tuesday for the first face-to-face talks in nearly three weeks, with Ukraine seeking a ceasefire without compromising on territory or sovereignty as its forces have pushed Russians back from Kyiv.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan welcomed delegations from both sides at an Istanbul palace, saying "stopping this tragedy" was up to them. Ukrainian television reported the talks had begun with "a cold welcome" and no handshake.