Turkey’s leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, held a phone call a day earlier with his Russian counterpart. He has been trying to position his country as the key mediator and in the call, he urged the Kremlin to agree a ceasefire.
Read more: Roman Abramovich suffers suspected poisoning
But hopes are not high
The discussions are between Russian and Ukrainian presidential advisers, not matching the level of foreign ministers who met in Turkey for failed peace negotiations earlier this month. They will pick up where the delegations' near-daily video calls have left off.
Ukraine's president has said he is willing to consider neutrality (meaning Ukraine would not ally itself militarily with others), but not before a referendum, or the withdrawal of Russian troops.
That still puts a gulf between his position and Russia’s demands. Even hopes for new humanitarian corridors seem dim after Ukraine decided against implementing them due to fears of attacks by Russian forces.