Russia and Ukraine have began conducting peace talks in a palace in Istanbul, Turkey.
The talks will last three days as both parties try to create the necessary conditions for further negotiations.
Meanwhile, the talks have been overshadowed by claims that the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and other members of an informal Russian-Ukrainian negotiating group suffered symptoms consistent with poisoning during an informal round of talks earlier this month.
The allegations surfaced on the eve of the first face-to-face peace talks in weeks, amid fears that the Kremlin was not ready to compromise.
