Russian and Ukrainian negotiators will meet in Istanbul on Wednesday evening for their first peace talks in more than seven weeks, with Moscow under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to strike a deal or face tough new sanctions.

The warring sides are still far apart heading into the third round of U.S.-brokered peace negotiations, set for Wednesday in Istanbul.

The Kremlin said that Russia and Ukraine are due to hold direct talks in Istanbul on Wednesday evening but added that the negotiations would not be easy.

On the face of it, the US involvement in Ukraine bears little similarity to the 20-year Afghanistan war, not least because there are no American boots on the ground in Europe.

He also keeps saying it’s “Joe Biden’s War,” even though the tranche of weapons Biden got Congress to approve last year has run out, and the new weapons shipments confirm this now is Trump’s Ukraine War.

President Donald Trump has announced a NATO agreement that will channel U.S.-made weapons to bolster Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression. Nearly all NATO member nations have committed to raising their defense spending to 5% of GDP.