Vladimir Putin is open to talks on a possible settlement to the conflict in Ukraine, Kremlin says. Joe Biden suggested he was prepared to speak to the Russian leader. Biden said the only way to end the war in Ukraine was for Putin to pull troops out. Russia and the West say Putin has no justification for what they cast as an imperial-style war of occupation. Russia has claimed about a fifth of Ukraine’s post-Soviet territory, annexations the West and Ukraine say they will never accept. The conflict has left tens of thousands of soldiers died on both sides and triggered the biggest confrontation since 1962.