Ukraine crisis: Russia ‘not optimistic’ but will keep talking with west – live coverage

Russian president Vladimir Putin is being briefed on a US paper reaffirming support for Ukraine's right to pursue Nato membership

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Germany's restrictive stance on exporting weapons or military equipment to Ukraine is causing consternation in Kyiv and elsewhere in Europe, but the position has popular support among the German population.

In a new YouGov poll published on Thursday morning, 59% of respondents supported not sending lethal weapons to help Ukraine protect itself against a Russian attack.

You heard what the US state secretary and the NATO secretary general said yesterday: they were loud and clear about non-acceptance of the main concerns expressed by Russia...

So there isn't much reason to be optimistic. But I would still avoid any conceptual opinions.

Based on what our colleagues said yesterday it's absolutely clear that on the main categories outlined in those draft documents... we cannot say that our thoughts have been taken into account or that a willingness has been shown to take our concerns into account.

But we won't rush with our assessments.