Talks between Ukraine and Russia began in Turkey on Tuesday without a handshake, Ukrainian television reported.
"There was a cold welcome, no handshake," a Ukrainian reporter said, without making clear whether he had witnessed the delegations meeting or had been told this by officials.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a political adviser to President Volodymr Zelenskiy, said on Twitter the delegations were discussing "the fundamental provisions of the negotiation process. Delegations are working in parallel on the entire spectrum of contentious issues."
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators scheduled to resume in Istanbul Tuesday would focus on easing the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, with a ceasefire being the “maximum” goal of the talks.
"The minimum programme will be humanitarian questions, and the maximum programme is reaching an agreement on a ceasefire," Kuleba said Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the Russian and Ukrainians delegations arrived at the Dolmabahce - President Erdogan’s office on the banks of the Bosphorus here in Istanbul.
These are the first face-to-face talks in over a fortnight but hopes of any breakthrough are low.
Erdogan spoke of his “deep sorrow” that conflict has entered its fifth week, saying Turkey’s friendship with both countries gave it an obligation to mediate.
"It is in the hands of both sides to stop this tragedy," he said.
Turkey is a Nato member but retains strong ties with Russia. Mr Erdogan has resisted joining the West’s sanctions against Moscow - one of the few countries still to do so.
The delegations are scheduled to hold two days of talks in a government building adjacent to the 19th-century Ottoman palace, Dolmabahce, on the shores of the Bosporus.
Earlier talks between the sides, held in person in Belarus or by video, failed to make progress on ending the monthlong war that has killed thousands and driven more than 10 million Ukrainians from their homes — including almost 4 million from their country.
Ahead of the talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his country is prepared to declare its neutrality, as Moscow has demanded, and is open to compromise on the fate of the Donbas, the contested region in the country’s east.
According to the Financial Times, Russia has dropped demands that Ukraine is "denazified" and is prepared to let it join the European Union as long as it is not militarily aligned.
The paper quotes four people close to the talks saying a possible deal would involve Ukraine abandoning its drive for Nato membership in exchange for security guarantees.
But it does not contain discussion of three initial core Russian demands over denazification, demilitarisation or legal protection fort the Russian language, the FT says.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said his county was not "trading people, land or sovereignty", while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said talks have so far not yielded substantial progress.
