China's leader has held separate talks with Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, stressing a need for closer ties with Moscow while urging "mutual respect" with Washington.

Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed Iran and other thorny subjects Wednesday with both U.S. counterpart Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin, hailing tighter ties with Moscow and calling for "mutual respect" with Washington.

A Kremlin official says that Moscow agrees with U.S. President Donald Trump that Ukraine is holding up a peace deal. Trump said in an interview with Reuters that Ukrainian President

President Donald Trump last week announced he had negotiated a weeklong ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, highlighting his personal relationship with President Vladimir Putin. Trump said last Thursday that he had persuaded his Russian counterpart to halt attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure during a brutal cold snap.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met late on Thursday with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The final global treaty restricting nuclear weapon deployment, New START, is set to expire on Thursday, leaving the US and Russia without limitations. Despite Russian President Putin's suggestion for a one-year extension,