Berlin cautious on Trump's talks with Putin and Zelensky

The German government is taking a cautious approach to the outcome of separate talks held by US President Donald Trump with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a government spokesman told journalists in Berlin on Monday.

"We welcome the commitment of President Trump in striving for a just and durable peace in Ukraine that maintains Ukrainian sovereignty and European security," he said.

But the spokesman added that it was down to Moscow to bring the war to an end and that there was a certain discrepancy between what was apparently being said by the Russian president and what "has come down in attacks on Ukraine over Christmas."

Zelensky and Trump met at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on Sunday after Trump had spoken by phone to Putin.

The meeting ended without a significant breakthrough late on Sunday, even as both leaders touted progress towards a peace deal.