RUSSIAN, Ukrainian and Western leaders met in Milan today for talks on ending Ukraine’s civil war.

Moscow has been at loggerheads with the West on the crisis in the country since Ukraine’s elected president Viktor Yanukovych was overthrown in February in a putsch backed by the fascist Svoboda and neonazi Right Sector parties.

The coup was immediately endorsed by the European Union and United States but opposed by Russia.

Relations worsened again following the new Kiev regime’s launch of a war against anti-fascist separatists operating in eastern Ukraine, who look to Moscow for support.

After the leaders’ working breakfast German Chancellor Angela Merkel claimed they were “closer together on some questions of detail,” but played down suggestions that agreement had been reached.

She said the main point was “whether the territorial integrity of Ukraine is really respected,” a mod to accusations that Russian troops had become involved in the conflict or were supplying resistance forces with assistance.

But Western leaders made no reference to allegations of war crimes by the Kiev regime or its savage attacks on trade unionists.

Forty-two people were burned to death in Odessa’s House of Trade Unions in May and Kiev has sought to ban the Ukrainian Communist Party.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said the talks were “difficult but constructive.”

Ideas floated included using spy drones to monitor the border between the regime’s troops and the separatists in order to discourage ceasefire violations.

Talks continued in the afternoon between Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany over the linked issue of Russian natural gas supplies, many of which reach Europe via Ukrainian pipelines.

Moscow stopped subsidising Ukrainian gas following the coup and Kiev owes billions of roubles in back payments.

The Kremlin has threatened to cut off gas supplies as a result — a nightmare scenario for western European leaders.

nMr Putin surprised foreign leaders by paying a late-night visit to disgraced former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi.

The two leaders are old friends and Mr Putin visited the convicted tax fraudster at his home near Milan, staying until 3.45am yesterday.