Bombay Durpun - Putin receives top US negotiators in high-stakes Ukraine talks

Putin, who received Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in the Kremlin, signalled earlier that his forces were ready to fight on to achieve Russia's initial war goals.

The meeting is a crucial moment for Ukraine in what could be a fraught week following days of frantic diplomacy kicked off by a unilateral US plan to bring peace, which has since been revised under pressure from Kyiv and its European backers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that any plan must actually end the war for good, and not just lead to a pause in the fighting that began with Moscow's offensive in February 2022.

Washington has said it is "optimistic" it can help end Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War II.

Kushner and Witkoff were to present Putin with the new version of US plan, which has been hammered out after the initial version raised fears in Kyiv and elsewhere in Europe that it made too many concessions to Moscow.

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov and the Kremlin's business envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, also took part in the meeting, according to a state TV broadcast.

After their Moscow visit, Kushner and Witkoff could go on to meet a Ukrainian delegation as soon as Wednesday, potentially in Brussels, a senior Kyiv official told AFP.

The US wanted to give an update "directly to us after their meeting", Zelensky said during a visit to Ireland, where he was shoring up European support.

"Our common task is to end the war, not just to achieve a pause in hostilities," Zelensky said, adding: "A dignified peace is needed."

Putin, however, appeared to send a hawkish message shortly before the US talks began.

He said that Pokrovsk, an east Ukrainian stronghold recently claimed by Russian forces, was a "good foothold for solving all the tasks set at the beginning of the special military operation", using the Kremlin's term for the nearly four-year-long war.

The Russian leader also accused Europe of sabotaging a deal on the Ukraine conflict.

Putin added that European changes to Trump's latest plan to end the war "aimed solely at one thing -- to completely block the entire peace process and put forward demands that are absolutely unacceptable for Russia".

- Russian pressure -

Kyiv is under pressure on several fronts.

Russian forces advanced fast in November in eastern Ukraine, and Kyiv has been rocked by graft scandals that ended with the resignation of its top negotiator -- Zelensky's right-hand man.

Moscow has also stepped up drone and missile attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity and heating, with Zelensky accusing the Kremlin of trying to "break" his country.

Zelensky has said he expects to discuss key issues with the US president, including on territory, and suggested Moscow's real motivation for the US talks was to ease Western sanctions.

Putin has demanded that Kyiv surrender territory Moscow claims as its own for any deal to be possible.

- Kushner included -

Europe is worried that Washington and Moscow could strike a deal over its head or force Ukraine into making unfair concessions.

The original 28-point US plan revealed last month hewed so closely to Moscow's demands it prompted accusations that Russia was involved in drafting it, which Washington denied.

Bloomberg last month reported on an audio recording showing that Witkoff helped coach Russian officials on how Putin should speak to Trump.

P.Mueller--BD