With recent positive signals, are direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations still far off?

On Saturday, both the Kremlin and Kyiv sent positive signals regarding the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to engage in direct negotiations with Ukraine without preconditions. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists, "During yesterday's talks with (U.S. President Donald) Trump's envoy Witkoff, Vladimir Putin confirmed that the Russian side is ready to resume the negotiation process with Ukraine without preconditions."

On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a one-on-one meeting with Trump at the Vatican during Pope Francis's funeral, their first face-to-face since a tense encounter in the Oval Office in February.

The two leaders, seated close together without aides present, spoke for about 15 minutes. The White House described the conversation as "very productive," with further details expected to follow.

Zelenskyy later wrote on social media Telegram that their discussions centered on "the protection of the lives of our people. A complete and unconditional ceasefire. A reliable and lasting peace that will prevent a recurrence of war." He added, "It was a very symbolic meeting that has the potential to become historic if we achieve joint results."

Zelenskyy also met with French President Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the funeral.

After their talks, Macron released a statement saying, "Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire and wishes to work alongside the Americans and the Europeans to make it happen." Now, Putin must prove whether he is actually prepared to make peace, Macron added.

Zelenskyy emphasized that "An unconditional ceasefire must be in the sky, at sea, and on land, and become the first step towards establishing a just peace with reliable security guarantees."

These positive gestures from Russia and Ukraine come after Trump threatened to abandon peace efforts if a deal is not reached soon. However, significant differences remain between the positions of the Trump administration, Ukraine, and its European allies.

Documents from Russia-U.S. talks, obtained by Reuters, show that Washington is proposing the legal recognition of Russia's control over Crimea and the de facto acknowledgment of Russian-held areas in southern and eastern Ukraine. 

In contrast, Europe and Ukraine want to defer discussions on territorial issues until after a ceasefire and have made no mention of recognizing Russian control over any Ukrainian territory.

Zelenskyy has publicly refused to recognize Crimea as part of Russia, saying that doing so would violate Ukraine's Constitution.

There are also differences in how quickly sanctions on Russia would be lifted if a peace deal was signed, what kind of security guarantees Ukraine would have, and how Ukraine would be financially compensated. 

(With input from agencies)