Despite flirting with Trump there is little evidence Putin has shifted from his core war goals: cementing his landgrabs in Ukraine and stopping it joining NATO.

Vladimir Putin told a news conference that he agreed with the idea of a ceasefire, but he immediately spelled out tough conditions that appeared to rule out agreement.

The talks in Moscow with Steve Witkoff indicated that Russia was keen to keep negotiating with the United States over Ukraine.

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he takes full responsibility for his administration's "war on drugs", in a video message posted on his Facebook account, as he braces for a legal battle at the International Criminal Court.

US envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin and is now on his way back to the US with information for Donald Trump, the Kremlin says.

The Kremlin said there are reasons to be optimistic about a settlement to the conflict but that more work needs to be done.

Russia’s stalling contrasted with Trump’s rush for a valuable breakthrough as his trade policies set off stock market slumps and cast a cloud over the economy. “I think we’re going to be in very good shape to get it done. We want to get it over with,” Trump said at the Oval Office on Thursday, in an outburst of optimism that jarred with reality.

Putin held late night talks in Moscow with Steve Witkoff, Trump's envoy, to discuss the U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Kyiv has already accepted the idea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss details of the American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Ukraine, asking him to convey Moscow's thoughts to Washington,

WASHINGTON—President Trump finds himself a “yes” away from brokering a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine. But it is Russian President Vladimir Putin who has to say it, and he is leaning in the other direction.