MOSCOW (Dispatches) - 
Washington and Moscow are aiming to reach a deal to halt the war in Ukraine that would lock in Russia’s occupation of territory seized during its military invasion, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
U.S. and Russian officials are working towards an agreement on territories for a planned summit meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as early as next week, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin has briefed Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday on his recent talks with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff regarding the Ukraine conflict, ahead of a potential U.S.-Russia summit.  
A phone conversation between the leaders reportedly touched on bilateral ties and global challenges. Putin said Moscow values China’s constructive role in resolving the Ukraine crisis and is ready to maintain close coordination with Beijing.
Xi welcomed contacts between Russia and the U.S., voiced support for improved relations, and backed a long-lasting political resolution to Moscow’s conflict with Kiev. “There are no simple solutions to complex issues,” Xi was quoted as saying, pledging that China will keep promoting dialogue to resolve regional conflicts.
Both leaders expressed appreciation for the strategic partnership between their nations.
 ”The leaders of the two countries highly appreciated the high level of political trust and strategic interaction… and unanimously agreed to jointly advance the relations… to greater development,” Xi’s office said.
The Kremlin confirmed the call and said the two leaders also discussed Putin’s upcoming visit to China.
Details of Putin’s three-hour meeting with Witkoff on Wednesday were not disclosed. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov earlier said both sides had “exchanged signals” on Ukraine and discussed Russia-U.S. ties and potential strategic cooperation. The White House said the meeting “went better than expected,” while U.S. President Donald Trump noted that “great progress was made,” although no specifics were provided.
The Russian state news agency TASS earlier said Putin had also spoken to the leaders of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and briefed them on talks he held this week with Witkoff on the Ukraine war.
Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield expressed little hope for a diplomatic solution to the war with Russia.
Ukrainian forces are locked in intense battles along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line that snakes from northeast to southeast Ukraine. The Pokrovsk city area of the eastern Donetsk region is taking the brunt of punishment as Russia looks to break out from there into the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukraine has significant manpower shortages.