New Delhi, Dec. 3 -- Russia and the United States ended a high-stakes round of talks in Moscow without any breakthrough on a Ukraine peace deal, only hours after President Vladimir Putin warned that Russia was "ready for war" with Europe if provoked. Despite describing the discussions as "useful" and "constructive", the Kremlin said the sides remained far apart on core issues, including territorial control.

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told Russian media that after a nearly five-hour meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, Moscow and Washington were "neither further nor closer to resolving the crisis in Ukraine. There is a lot of work to be done."

Ushakov added that while the meeting ...