We hope that the leaders will come to an agreement and we will have peace,” said Sergei Kurnosov, the mayor of the town of Rylsk near Russia's front line with Ukraine.

Russia will seek a peace deal in Ukraine that safeguards its own long-term security and will not retreat from the gains it has made in the conflict, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday in comments to relatives of soldiers killed there.

Some recent favorable White House moves toward Russia have appeared to signal a belief that Moscow is ready for constructive talks on ending the war in Ukraine. But there’s slim chance of Russian