Russia mulls halt to peace talks 'unless Ukraine cedes territory'

Talks scheduled for next week will be critical to determining whether both the sides can move towards an agreement to end the war, says report

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Russian officials increasingly see little reason to continue US-led peace talks with Ukraine unless Kyiv signals it is prepared to give up territory as part of a settlement, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Talks scheduled for next week will be critical to determining whether the sides can move towards an agreement to end the war, the report said.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Meanwhile, Russia's defence ministry said its forces had taken control of the settlements of Neskuchne and Girke in Ukraine's Kharkiv and Zaporizhizhia regions.

Also during the day, President Donald Trump said the United States “could” consider sanctions relief for Russia as part of efforts to end the Ukraine war.

“We could sanctions relief. I'd like to do - I'd like to just see that war over with,” Trump told reporters before departing on Marine One.

He said he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin and stressed urgency. “We want to make a deal with Russia. We want to make a deal with Ukraine. I think we're very close, but we'll see what happens.”