Russia and Ukraine are set to hold their first direct peace talks in three years, both countries said Thursday, but hopes for a breakthrough remained dim after Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face in Turkey.

European shares reversed early declines to close higher on Thursday, with industrial stocks getting the biggest boost, while corporate earnings remained in the spotlight.

For days, President Donald Trump repeatedly floated the possibility of scrapping his Middle East travel schedule — one his team meticulously crafted for weeks — and adding a stop to personally mediate Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Turkey.

On May 5, Ukraine's National Guard released a clip it said showed how it used drones to rebuff a Russian motorcycle onslaught of troops trying to plant their flag on the ruins of a building. The video ends with the bodies of wounded or dead Russian soldiers lying next to their motorcycles.

"I think there is this window of opportunity this week, but also in the next 10 days, two weeks, to really bring the whole issue of Ukraine to a better place," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.