Delegations from Moscow and Kyiv discussed the possibility of a meeting between Ukrainian President and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during talks in Istanbul this week, Volodymyr Zelensky said in comments released Friday.

US president Donald Trump set a new deadline yesterday of 10 or 12 days for Russia to make progress toward ending the war in Ukraine or face consequences, underscoring frustration with Russian president Vladimir Putin for the three-and-a-half-year-old conflict.

President Donald Trump insisted Friday that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “will happen," even as the Kremlin ruled out talks between the two leaders in the near term.

Russian forces, meanwhile, pounded four Ukrainian cities in nighttime attacks that officials said killed a child.

The Kremlin ruled out a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before achieving major progress on a peace deal, raising doubt on ending the war before President Trump’s proposed 50-day deadline.

Dmitry Peskov's statement comes as the 50-day deadline approaches for U.S. President Donald Trump to potentially impose sanctions on Moscow if Russia fails to agree to a peace deal.

President Trump said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will hold peace talks, but Russia said not to expect that soon. "It's going to happen," Trump told reporters,

Russian President Vladimir Putin is “not ready for compromises” to end his brutal war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told The Post in an exclusive interview on Wednesday — but President Trump has the power to bring him to his knees by speeding up tough sanctions that could cause a “social explosion” in Russia.

The Kremlin said yesterday that a summit between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky could only happen as a final step to seal a peace deal. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that it was unlikely that such a meeting could occur by the end of next month,