Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he will urge Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend peace talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelensky has said he will be in Turkey, ready and waiting, for face-to-face talks with Putin to end the war. U.S. President Donald Trump has also called for Putin and Zelensky to meet there, and said he was thinking of attending himself, too, if it was possible.

Russia and Ukraine are poised to sit down possibly on Thursday in Turkey's Istanbul for their first high-level face-to-face talks since 2022, according to the Washington Post. Responding to a question related to the direct talks,

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s presence at the parade gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a boost as he tries to show that he is not isolated on the global stage.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a joint statement “further deepening” their partnership following talks in Moscow Thursday – a show of solidarity in the face of global uncertainties unleashed by US President Donald Trump’s “America First” diplomacy.

Russia has altered its stance on a peace deal with Ukraine, reflecting its advancements on the battlefield, according to Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. Diplomatic efforts continue amidst territorial control disputes,

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine were scheduled to sit down on Thursday in Istanbul for their first high-level face-to-face talks since 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin was not on the Russian delegation list published by the Kremlin,