VLADIVOSTOK/KYIV: Russian President Vladimir Putin said there was a possibility of reaching an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that US negotiators were expected to visit both Moscow and Kyiv in the coming days.
The comments represented a relatively rare note of optimism from both sides after months of fighting and repeated failures to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough.
Putin said on Thursday that circumstances could allow an agreement to be reached, although he also warned that recent Ukrainian military actions were making negotiations more difficult. Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on several fundamental issues that would need to be resolved in any settlement.
Zelenskiy, meanwhile, said American representatives involved in efforts to broker an agreement would travel to both countries, indicating that Washington was intensifying its diplomatic engagement.