The first round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in over two weeks have wrapped up as Moscow promises to scale back its assault on Kyiv

The steps discussed at the meeting was one of the first signs so far that progress is being made towards peace, but Western officials stress caution.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says there is a distinct difference between what Russia says it will do and what actually happens.

While in Britain, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he will wait to see how Moscow moves forward before making any judgement.

Ukraine has also proposed adopting a neutral status during the talks, which took place in Turkey’s capital of Istanbul.

Russia’s deputy defence minister says the decision to reduce military activity in Kyiv was made “to increase mutual trust and create the necessary conditions for further negotiations” in the hope of signing a peace agreement.

Putin’s assault of Ukraine has been confronted by strong Ukrainian resistance, with Ukraine’s military recapturing territory… as many civilians remain trapped in besieged cities, like Mariupol.

This is vastly different to the scenes the world witnessed during Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.