The French presidency said Sunday that it welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s willingness to speak with President Emmanuel Macron over the war in Ukraine, adding that the conditions for such talks would be determined in coming days. In an interview published earlier Sunday, a Kremin spokesman said Putin has “expressed readiness to engage in dialogue with Macron". Read about the day’s events as they unfolded on our liveblog.
UK's Starmer discusses Ukraine peace efforts with Trump
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed efforts to achieve a "just and lasting end" to the war in Ukraine on Sunday with President Donald Trump, Starmer's Downing Street office said in a statement, after talks between officials in Florida.
"The two leaders began by reflecting on the war in Ukraine," Starmer's office said in a readout of the call, adding they had discussed the work of the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" countries that have pledged to support Ukraine.
"The Prime Minister updated on work by the Coalition of the Willing to support any peace deal and ensure a just and lasting end to the hostilities."
Ukrainian negotiator Umerov says he will hold one more meeting with US team
Ukrainian negotiators will hold another meeting with US officials on Sunday over moves to end
the war with Russia, top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said.
"We are working constructively and substantively. We are counting on further progress and practical results," Umerov said on the Telegram messenger.
Zelensky calls for broader consultations with European partners after US talks
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky called for broader consultations with European partners after talks between US and Ukrainian teams in Florida last week.
"We are moving at a fairly rapid pace, and our team in Florida has been working with the American side," Zelensky said on the Telegram messenger. He said he had just talked with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere on the phone.
Putin's readiness to speak with Macron 'welcome'
The French presidency welcomed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to speak with President Emmanuel Macron, adding the terms under which such a conversation could take place would be determined in coming days.
"It is welcome that the Kremlin has publicly agreed to this approach. We will decide in the coming days on the best way to proceed," the Elysee said, after the Kremlin spokesman said Putin "expressed readiness to engage in dialogue" with his French counterpart.
Russian forces take Ukrainian villagers across border, media says
Russian forces have crossed the border with Ukraine in the northeastern Sumy region and taken
about 50 residents of a Ukrainian border village into Russia, Ukrainian media quoted the military as saying.
Ukraine's public broadcaster Suspilne and the Ukrainska Pravda news outlet said Russian forces entered Ukrainian territory on Saturday night in the area of the village of Hrabovske.
Most of the local residents captured from the village were elderly people, the media said.
Kremlin denies three-way US-Ukraine-Russia talks in preparation
The Kremlin denied that three-way talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States were on the cards, as diplomats gathered in Miami for talks on ending the conflict.
"At present, no one has seriously discussed this initiative, and to my knowledge, it is not in preparation," Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters, according to Russian news agencies.
US and Russian officials meet in Florida for more Ukraine talks
US negotiators met Russian officials in Florida for the latest talks aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, as President Donald Trump’s administration tries to coax an agreement out of both sides to end the conflict.
The Miami meeting followed US talks on Friday with Ukrainian and European officials, the latest discussions of a peace plan that has sparked some hope of a resolution to the conflict that began when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev told reporters after meeting US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner that the talks were constructive and would continue on Sunday. A White House official said the talks had concluded for the day.
Putin ready to talk to France's Macron on Ukraine: spokesman
Vladimir Putin is ready to talk with France's Emmanuel Macron over the war in Ukraine, the Russian president's spokesman said in an interview published Sunday.
Putin has "expressed readiness to engage in dialogue with Macron", Dmitry Peskov told state news agency RIA Novosti.
"Therefore, if there is mutual political will, then this can only be assessed positively."
Macron said this week he believed Europe should reach back out to Putin over ending the war.
"I believe that it's in our interest as Europeans and Ukrainians to find the right framework to re-engage this discussion" in the coming weeks, the French president said.
Washington proposed trilateral talks between US, Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that only the US is capable of persuading Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
Russian missile strikes on port infrastructure in Odesa, southern Ukraine, killed eight people and left 27 wounded.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev arrived in Miami and headed for talks with US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.
