P resident Vladimir Putin has doubled down on his core demands for ending the war in Ukraine, stating that Russia will lay down arms only if Kyiv's troops withdraw from territory claimed by Moscow. Putin has long pushed for legal recognition of the Ukrainian territories Russia has seized by force.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that a U.S. delegation is expected to arrive in Moscow in the first half of next week.

"We need to sit down and discuss this seriously," Putin told reporters at the end of a three-day visit to Kyrgyzstan. He described U.S. President Donald Trump's 28-point peace plan as "a set of issues put forward for discussion" rather than a draft agreement.

The Trump Administration has claimed that it’s nearing a deal to end the war, but, for now, the conflict’s essential impasse still holds: Moscow won’t accept what Kyiv can stomach.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will discuss all aspects of their countries' "privileged strategic partnership" when Putin visits New Delhi next week, the Kremlin said.

In his first public comments about the latest U.S. push for peace between Russia and Ukraine, the Russian leader described the plan as a list of questions requiring work.

A Putin ally has called for more detail in Trump's peace plan for Ukraine. Follow Newsweek's live coverage of the war.

Trump's Ukraine peace talks show potential as envoy meets Russian officials, but territorial disputes remain the key obstacle to ending the ongoing war.

The trip to Moscow is the second since last year for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is widely considered Putin’s closest partner among all EU leaders.

January shows the Russian leader astride a snowmobile. For February, he flips a judo partner. In August, he offers advice: “My recipe for energy: Sleep little, work a lot and don’t whine.”