The president’s comments came after he said Crimea “will stay with Russia,” a position backed by the mayor of Kyiv, who conceded that his country may have to give up territory.

Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that his country would be ready to hold talks with Russia in any format once a ceasefire deal is in place and the fighting has stopped. Zelenskyy,

Sergei Lavrov, on Thursday, said 'specific points' still needed to be 'fine-tuned.' US envoy Steve Witkoff is due in Russia on Friday where he is expected to hold another round of ceasefire talks with Putin.