Russia and Ukraine agreed a large-scale prisoner exchange, said they would trade ideas on a possible ceasefire and discussed a potential meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin in their first direct talks in over three years.
But coming out of the highly anticipated talks in Istanbul, which lasted just over 90 minutes, there were few signs of more significant progress toward ending the three-year war.
Kyiv was seeking an "unconditional ceasefire" to pause a conflict that has destroyed large swathes of Ukraine and displaced millions of people.
Russia has consistently rebuffed those calls, and the only concrete agreement appeared to be a deal to exchange 1,000 prisoners each.
The two sides also said they would "present their vision of a possible future ceasefire", said Russia's top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky.
Russia also took note of Ukraine's request for a meeting of Presidents Putin and Zelensky, he said.
"Overall, we are satisfied with the results and ready to continue contacts," Mr Medinsky added.
Ukraine's top negotiator, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, confirmed the prisoner swap in a separate statement and also said a ceasefire and a possible presidential meeting had been discussed
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who presided over the talks, said the sides had "agreed in principle to meet again" and would present ceasefire ideas "in writing".
Ukraine rallies its Western allies
Ukraine has rallied its Western allies after the talks.
Under pressure from US President Donald Trump to end the conflict, delegates from the warring countries met for the first time since March, 2022, the month after Russia invaded its neighbour.
As soon as the talks ended, President Volodymyr Zelensky held a phone call with Mr Trump and the leaders of France, Germany and Poland, Mr Zelensky's spokesperson said.
Russia's demands were "detached from reality and go far beyond anything that was previously discussed," a source in the Ukrainian delegation told Reuters.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russia had issued ultimatums for Ukraine to withdraw from parts of its own territory in order to obtain a ceasefire "and other non-starters and non-constructive conditions".
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the Russian position was unacceptable and that European leaders, Ukraine and the US were "closely aligning" their responses.
Mr Zelensky said robust sanctions should follow if Russia rejected a ceasefire.
Expectations for a major breakthrough, already low, were dented further yesterday when Mr Trump, winding up a Middle East tour, said there would be no movement without a meeting between himself and Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
Mr Zelensky said Ukraine's top priority was "a full, unconditional and honest ceasefire... to stop the killing and create a solid basis for diplomacy".
He said that if Russia refused, it should be hit with strong new sanctions against its energy sector and banks.
Russia says it wants to end the war by diplomatic means and is ready to discuss a ceasefire.
But it has raised a list of questions and concerns, saying Ukraine could use a pause to rest its forces, mobilise extra troops and acquire more western weapons.
Ukraine and its allies accuse Mr Putin of stalling, and say he is not serious about wanting peace.
Two paths
Both sides are under pressure from Mr Trump to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.
The delegates were seated opposite each other, with the Russians in suits and half of the Ukrainians wearing camouflage military fatigues.
"There are two paths ahead of us: one road will take us on a process that will lead to peace, while the other will lead to more destruction and death.
"The sides will decide on their own, with their own will, which path they choose," Mr Fidan told them at the start of the meeting.
The Ukrainian source said the Ukrainians spoke in their own language, although Russian is widely spoken and understood in Ukraine.
Putin stays away
It was Mr Putin who had proposed the direct talks in Turkey, but he spurned a challenge from Mr Zelensky to meet him there in person, instead sending a team of mid-level officials.
Ukraine responded by naming negotiators of similar rank.
Russia said it had captured another village in its slow, grinding advance in eastern Ukraine.
Minutes before the start of the Istanbul meeting, Ukrainian media reported an air alert and explosions in the city of Dnipro.
Russia says it sees the talks as a continuation of the negotiations that took place in the early weeks of the war in 2022, also in Istanbul.
But the terms under discussion then, when Ukraine was still reeling from Russia's initial invasion, would be deeply disadvantageous to Kyiv.
They included a demand by Moscow for large cuts to the size of Ukraine's military.
Mr Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak said Russian attempts to align the new talks with the unsuccessful earlier negotiations would fail.
With Russian forces now in control of close to a fifth of Ukraine, Mr Putin has held fast to his longstanding demands for Kyiv to cede territory, abandon its NATO membership ambitions and become a neutral country.
Ukraine rejects these terms as tantamount to capitulation, and is seeking guarantees of its future security from world powers, especially the US.
Follow live: More Russia-Ukraine talks may happen, but none planned
