It was a proposal that the Kremlin could neither outright reject nor accept, intended to force it into an awkward choice, revealing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s true appetite for his brutal war of choice.

President Donald Trump on Sunday backed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s call for direct talks with Ukraine, breaking his administration’s agreement with European leaders announced less than 24 hours earlier.

President Vladimir Putin said, according to a translation by the BBC: "We are determined to have serious negotiations with Ukraine. The purpose is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and establish long-term, lasting peace with a historical perspective.