The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was serious about negotiating a settlement to end the war in Ukraine as high-level talks began in Saudi Arabia, and that Russia would prefer to achieve all its aims peacefully.

Beyond Ukraine, the meeting — attended by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other senior officials — had been expected to focus on thawing relations between the two countries, whose ties have fallen to their lowest level in decades.

Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy adviser, said on Monday that Moscow and Washington had yet to agree on how to embark on Ukraine peace talks as the U.S. had not yet appointed a chief negotiator to talk to Russia.

Mr Trump has no clear plan, and his options range from cutting off Ukraine to ramping up military aid and sanctions. The dance between the American president and Mr Putin took another step in Riyadh,

A source close to the Kremlin has warned that the US, via President Donald Trump's "unprecedented" concessions, has given Russia 'carte blanche' to attack major European cities after recent peace talk