‘Ready to resume talks with Ukraine without preconditions’: Putin tells US envoy as Trump warns of tougher actions

"During yesterday's talks with Trump's envoy Witkoff, Vladimir Putin reiterated that Russia is ready to resume negotiations with Ukraine without any preconditions," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

He added that Putin has "repeated the same several times" in recent months.

The statement comes as US President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome, where both leaders attended the funeral of Pope Francis.

Following his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome, Trump raised concerns about Putin's intentions in a post on Truth Social.

Trump criticised Putin for launching attacks on civilian areas in Ukraine in recent days, saying, "Maybe he doesn't want to stop the war."

In the post on Truth Social, Trump said Putin "has to be dealt with differently," possibly through the imposition of additional sanctions on Moscow.

"There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days," Trump said in the post.

"It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through 'Banking' or 'Secondary Sanctions?' Too many people are dying!!!" he added.