ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks in three years Friday, gathering in Istanbul for Turkish-brokered negotiations, but officials and observers expected them to yield little immediate progress on stopping the more than three-year war.

Talks to end the war in Ukraine may move forward today, but it looks like most of the key players won't be there. There are delegations there from the three critical countries including Ukraine, Russia and the United States.

Brief talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul with lower-level delegations. This was the first time the two countries held direct negotiations since the first weeks of Russia's invasion.