Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, said that Moscow, Washington and Kyiv are "reasonably close" to reaching a diplomatic settlement to end the ongoing war in Ukraine. Dmitriev's comments came as tensions between the United States and Russia heightened over fresh US sanctions targeting Moscow’s oil sector.

In an interview with CNN , Dmitriev said a planned meeting between Putin and US President Donald Trump had not been cancelled, contrary to Trump’s earlier remarks, but would "probably take place at a later date".

Trump had previously announced that he and Putin were set to meet in Budapest to discuss a possible ceasefire and peace framework, but later said the summit was "on hold" due to a lack of progress in negotiations. The US President cited Russia’

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