Three Americans and two Russians made up the two teams at the talks in Saudi Araba that have underscored an end to Western isolation of Moscow. The men described the meeting as preparing the groundwork for broader "high-level" talks and agreed to reset their countries' diplomatic relations.

Six officials say they believe Russian President Putin could agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine because it would give his military some time to reset and rebuild. However, he is not interested in a "real peace deal.