Kyiv and its European allies have urged Trump not to agree to any concessions of Ukrainian land to Russia, saying such decisions are Ukraine's alone to make, and warned against what they said is rewarding Moscow's illegal aggression.

China is pleased to see Russia and the United States maintaining contact and improving ties to advance a political resolution of the Ukraine crisis, President Xi Jinping said in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.

For most of his quarter-century rule, President Vladimir Putin visited places like Paris, London, Vienna and New York