Russia and Ukraine are to hold a third round of negotiations in Istanbul, with expectations low for progress on a peace agreement to end the full-scale war that’s in its fourth year.

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

Russian negotiators are flying to Turkey for the first peace talks with Ukraine in more than seven weeks, Russian news agencies reported on Wednesday.

Vasily Astrov, expert on the Russian economy at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, told Newsweek that "inflation has really subsided markedly over the past few months. The outcome of this policy has been a marked cooling of domestic demand, with the welcome side effect of rapid disinflation.

Russia unleashed one of its largest aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent months hours before Britain and Germany chaired a meeting Monday to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump's plans for NATO allies to provide Ukraine with weapons.

The UK government on Monday called for a 50-day drive to arm Ukraine to take advantage of a recent ultimatum put to Russia by US President Donald Trump.

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.