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The Kremlin said Wednesday that its army's recent battlefield successes in Ukraine had bolstered its position in talks to end the fighting, as both Moscow and Kyiv prepared for more negotiations with the United States.US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner negotiated into the early hours with Vladimir Putin but no breakthrough for a peace settlement was announced.The Kremlin said the two sides had failed to find a "compromise" on the crucial issue of territories and that Ukraine's participation in Nato remained a "key" question in the talks.The White House had previously voiced optimism about its plan to end Europe's worst conflict since World War II but that hope appeared to fade Wednesday, with Moscow saying it had found parts of the plan "unacceptable".Witkoff and Kushner brought an updated version of a US plan to end the war.Russia's advance in eastern Ukraine gathered pace last month and Putin has said in recent days that Moscow is ready to fight on to seize the rest of the land it claims if Kyiv does not surrender it."The progress and nature of the negotiations were influenced by the successes of the Russian army on the battlefield in recent weeks," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov — who took part in the US-Russia talks — told reporters, including AFP."Our Russian soldiers, through their military exploits, have helped make the assessments of our foreign partners regarding the paths to a peace settlement more appropriate," he added.Moscow insisted it was incorrect to say Putin rejected the plan in its entirety.It also said Russia was still committed to diplomacy, despite Putin's stark warning that Moscow was prepared to fight Europe if it wanted war."We are still ready to meet as many times as is needed to reach a peace settlement," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.The fresh talks come as Nato pledges to buy hundreds of millions of dollars worth of US arms for Kyiv.Nato chief Mark Rutte said it was positive that peace talks were ongoing but that the alliance should make sure that "Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going".Russian troops have been grinding forward across the front line against outgunned and outnumbered Ukrainian forces.Earlier this week, Moscow claimed to have captured the important stronghold of Pokrovsk but a Ukraine army unit fighting in the city said urban combat was still ongoing."The enemy is bogged down in urban combat for Pokrovsk and currently cannot seize the city using weapons," the 7th Air Assault Corps said. According to Ukrainian online map project DeepState, most of the city is occupied by the Russians.European countries have expressed fears Washington and Moscow will reach agreements without them and have spent the last weeks trying to amend the US plan so that it does not force Kyiv to capitulate.In Moscow, tensions with Europe were palpable, with Putin delivering an exceptionally hawkish statement on Tuesday."We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now," he said.Britain has downplayed Putin's hawkish messaging, calling it "yet more Kremlin claptrap from a president who isn't serious about peace".Moscow went to war in Ukraine in February 2022, saying it wanted to prevent Kyiv joining Nato — a prospect that Ukraine and the Western alliance have called a pretext to start the fighting and that they say was not going to happen.Since the full-scale offensive, Kyiv has said that joining the Western alliance would protect it from future Russian attacks.Trump has repeatedly ruled out Ukrainian membership in the bloc.Ushakov said the issue was "key" at the talks.Zelensky's top negotiator Rustem Umerov held a lengthy meeting with European security advisors on Wednesday as the Kyiv team was expected to meet Trump's envoys later."I gave my colleagues a detailed update on the negotiations in Geneva and Florida, and on the next steps in the diplomatic process," Umerov said."It's important that Europe stays an active part of this," he added.Zelensky has said that any peace deal for the conflict should make sure Moscow will not attack again.Moscow's offensive in Ukraine, which has killed thousands, has also been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent at home unseen since the Soviet era. 

US envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's chief negotiator on the Middle East, has said that he felt "betrayed" when Israel launched a strike targeting Hamas negotiators in Qatar last month. In a CBS interview alongside Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law who worked with Witkoff on the brokering of a Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the presidential envoy said he learned of the September 9 attack in Doha the morning after it happened. Qatar is a key US ally and acted as mediator in the push to end the Gaza war. "I think both Jared and I felt, I just feel we felt a little bit betrayed," Witkoff told the CBS news programme "60 Minutes" in excerpts released Friday. The full interview is scheduled to air on Sunday. At the time, the strike halted the indirect negotiating process to end the fighting in the devastated Gaza Strip. "It had a metastasizing effect because the Qataris were critical to the negotiation, as were the Egyptians and the Turks," Witkoff said. "We had lost the confidence of the Qataris. And so Hamas went underground, and it was very, very difficult to get to them." Trump wrote on social media at the time that the decision to conduct the Doha air raid came from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel and Hamas ultimately accepted a 20-point peace plan presented by Trump that called for hostage and prisoner releases and a ceasefire after two years of deadly conflict. Under pressure from Trump during a White House visit this month, Netanyahu called Qatar's prime minister to apologise for the Doha strike.

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff expressed deep appreciation for the prominent role played by Qatar, Egypt, and Turkiye in achieving a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, praising the dedicated efforts of their leaders in reaching what he described as a long-awaited and historic moment. In a statement on Saturday, Witkoff thanked the leaders of Qatar, Egypt, and Turkiye for their crucial contributions, emphasizing that the close cooperation among the three countries and the United States demonstrated that perseverance and commitment can pave the way to peace in the Middle East. He noted that the agreement to halt Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip was once deemed impossible, highlighting that the commitment of all parties involved was key to the success of the negotiations. Witkoff also commended US President Donald Trump's determination to achieve a stable and prosperous Middle East, noting that the President has shown the world that peace in the region is attainable. He added that the US-sponsored agreement between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and Turkiye, marks an important step toward consolidating security and stability in the Gaza Strip, reaffirming the possibility of peace in the wider region. Witkoff's remarks came after a ceasefire agreement was reached last Wednesday between Hamas and Israel under a US peace initiative. The first phase of the deal took effect Friday afternoon, providing for a cessation of hostilities, a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces, a mutual exchange of prisoners, and the immediate entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip. The approval of the initial phase followed four days of indirect negotiations between the two sides in Sharm El-Sheikh, with the participation of mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkiye, and under American supervision.

Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and senior Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff were heading to Egypt to finalise hostage release details, official sources said Saturday.A White House official confirmed Kushner and Witkoff are traveling to the region to address the finalization of details on the release of hostages and to discuss the deal pushed by the US president to bring an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.The Palestinian resistance group on Friday reacted positively to a plan that would end two years of war, saying it was ready to release all hostages and discuss details on the deal.Trump in turn called on Israel to "immediately" halt its bombings of the war-ravaged territory, although Washington's chief ally in the region said Saturday its troops were still operating in Gaza.Trump's proposal calls for a halt to hostilities, the release of hostages within 72 hours, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Hamas's disarmament.In an interview Saturday with Axios, Trump -- highlighting his behind-the-scenes diplomacy including with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- said a peace deal in Gaza was "close" and that he will push to have it finalized in coming days.Trump also said his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan was "very helpful" in urging Hamas to agree to the release of hostages."Erdogan helped a lot. He is a tough guy, but he is a friend of mine and he was great," Trump said.Netanyahu said in Jerusalem that he had instructed negotiators to travel to Egypt for talks over a Gaza deal."I have instructed the negotiating team to go to Egypt to finalise the technical details. The intention is to limit the negotiations to a few days," Netanyahu said in a televised statement, without specifying when the talks would take place.

Qatar's International Media Office has debunked claims that Qatar attempted to cultivate a relationship with Steve Witkoff through a lobbying programme, years in advance of his appointment to public office, including his later role as Middle East envoy.The International Media Office (IMO), in a statement said these claims are entirely false and so lacking in credibility that they can only be described as absurd.In response to false accusations carried by The New York Times, IMO said Qatari investment entities, both state and private, have maintained business relationships with Witkoff for many years, long before President Trump was elected."These accusations come from questionable sources and are intended to target Qatar and Witkoff as part of a coordinated effort to sow tension and division between Qatar and the United States, while undermining efforts to mediate a ceasefire in Gaza. They serve the interests of bad actors who oppose the work our two countries are doing to advance international peace and stability."The New York Times chose to disregard key facts shared with them in order to manufacture a story - for example, that the hotel in question was not owned by Witkoff or his companies at the time of purchase."The IMO said Qatar always interacts with the United States government at an institutional level. "Our relations are built on decades of department-to-department co-operation across a range of shared interests, including diplomacy, security and economic partnership."Qatar's investment decisions are kept entirely separate from diplomacy. Strict governance ensures that one does not influence the other." The IMO said Qatar's investments in the United States are based strictly on long-term economic and financial criteria. "In cases where business and diplomatic interests overlap, safeguards are introduced to prevent any conflict of interest."