Russia’s currency rose to its strongest level against the dollar in two years as negotiators arrived in Turkey for what are expected to be the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv since 2022 and domestic appetite for foreign-currency dropped.

President Donald Trump said there would be no progress on peace in Ukraine until he and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet. His comments come as delegations from Ukraine and Russia wait to meet in Istanbul on Thursday for the first set of direct talks in more than three years. It is not clear if the meeting will still go ahead.

The talks in Istanbul complicated a European push for the United States to pressure Russia into a ceasefire in Ukraine.