Ukraine Peace Bid

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday Moscow would only cease fire and begin peace talks if Ukraine gave up four of its regions and abandoned its NATO membership bid.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that Ukraine's proposed peace plan as well as the latest UN proposals to revive the Black Sea grain initiative were both "not realistic."

Xi Jinping's meetings in Moscow with Vladimir Putin put the Biden administration in an uncomfortable position: on the sidelines as two adversaries discuss a Ukraine peace proposal that the US has deemed unacceptable.

Western leaders challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday to prove he wants peace in Ukraine, warning both sides a new Franco-German peace drive may be a "last chance" to stop all-out war.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said today the latest Franco-German bid to end the Ukraine crisis with Russia was uncertain but worth trying given the ongoing bloodshed.

NATO head Jens Stoltenberg said today he fully supports efforts by the French and German leaders to secure a peaceful resolution to the now "critical" crisis in Ukraine.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke on Saturday to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Petro Poroshenko in a bid to arrange a mini-summit that could actually end the ex-Soviet state's separatist war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday Moscow would only cease fire and begin peace talks if Ukraine gave up four of its regions and abandoned its NATO membership bid.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that Ukraine's proposed peace plan as well as the latest UN proposals to revive the Black Sea grain initiative were both "not realistic."

Xi Jinping's meetings in Moscow with Vladimir Putin put the Biden administration in an uncomfortable position: on the sidelines as two adversaries discuss a Ukraine peace proposal that the US has deemed unacceptable.

Western leaders challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday to prove he wants peace in Ukraine, warning both sides a new Franco-German peace drive may be a "last chance" to stop all-out war.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said today the latest Franco-German bid to end the Ukraine crisis with Russia was uncertain but worth trying given the ongoing bloodshed.

NATO head Jens Stoltenberg said today he fully supports efforts by the French and German leaders to secure a peaceful resolution to the now "critical" crisis in Ukraine.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke on Saturday to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Petro Poroshenko in a bid to arrange a mini-summit that could actually end the ex-Soviet state's separatist war.