Sergey Lavrov expressed doubts about organizing peace talks at the Vatican, emphasizing the Orthodox roots of Russia and Ukraine. Another round of negotiations with Ukraine is planned, but details remain unknown.

Russia and Ukraine have no direct peace talks scheduled, the Kremlin said Thursday, nearly a week after their first face-to-face session since shortly after Moscow’s invasion in 2022 and days after U.S. President Donald Trump said they would start ceasefire negotiations “immediately.”

For hours Friday, a crowd of hopefuls stood on the roadside wrapped in blue-and-yellow flags and clutching photos of captured Ukrainian soldiers — their eyes peeled for any sign of buses. On board would be the first batch of Ukrainian troops released in the largest exchange of the war with Russia thus far — the only outcome of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul last week that failed to result in a ceasefire.