The Kremlin said on Thursday that a summit on Ukraine between US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was set for the "coming days" but Putin essentially ruled out including Ukraine's leader.

The Russian president named the United Arab Emirates as a potential location for the summit, but this was not confirmed by Washington. And President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted that he had to be involved in any talks.

The summit would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021.

Trump has been trying since taking office in January to end Russia's military assault on Ukraine.

Three rounds of direct Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul have failed to yield any progress towards a ceasefire. The two sides remain far apart

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