BBC Online :
Russia’s president and EU leaders have said their talks on the Ukraine crisis – also including Ukraine’s president – were positive but difficult.
The UK, German, French and Italian leaders were expected to press Vladimir Putin to do more to end the fighting.
Correspondents say that while there was no sign of breakthrough, the main thing was to create trust between the sides.
The West says Russia is arming separatist rebels and sending troops to eastern Ukraine. Moscow denies this.
The EU insists that sanctions it introduced against Russia over its involvement in the crisis will remain until Moscow takes action to defuse the crisis.
Ukraine and the rebels agreed a truce in September, but each side accuses the other of repeated shelling.
The separatists control parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
More than 3,600 people have been killed since the fighting erupted in April, following the annexation by Russia of Ukraine’s southern Crimea peninsular a month earlier.
Mr Putin met his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko and EU leaders on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe (Asem) summit in the northern Italian city of Milan.
The other participants in the meeting included UK Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
Mr Putin told reporters as he left the meeting that the talks were “good” and “positive”, but his spokesman later described them as being “full of misunderstandings”.
“Unfortunately, some participants of [the Milan] breakfast demonstrated complete unwillingness to understand the reality in south-eastern Ukraine,” Dmitry Peskov said, quoted by Russian media.
Mr Putin would meet Mr Poroshenko, Mr Hollande and Ms Merkel again later, Mr Peskov added.
He said that while no bilateral talks were planned with the Ukrainian president, such a meeting could not be ruled out.
In a brief news conference after the talks, Italian Prime Minister Renzi said they were constructive but big differences remained.
“I think we made a step ahead,” he said.
Ukraine coastguards patrol Azov Sea coast – 16 October Ukraine coastguards patrol the Azov Sea coast near Mariupol, near the frontline with rebel-held territory
The carcasses of a destroyed aeroplane at Donetsk airport. Photo: 16 October 2014 Donetsk airport has been the scene of fierce clashes over the past weeks
“I would underline the real desire to find a solution and we can be positive.”
Meanwhile the UK prime minister said Mr Putin had made it clear he did not want a frozen conflict or a divided Ukraine.
