The US and European leaders are placing their hopes in the Vatican to engage Russia and Ukraine in peace talks, after President Donald Trump said Pope Leo XIV had expressed interest in the idea. The Kremlin isn’t so keen.

The talks took place in the warring capitals of Moscow and Kyiv, from Washington and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to countries across Europe.

Ukraine and Russia plan to hold their first direct peace talks in more than three years when officials meet in Istanbul on Saturday. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had travelled to Turkey but said he would not attend the talks,