Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday gave a key speech from Astana, Kazakhstan, where he participated in the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA). This followed meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan, the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

While he said he sees direct talks with his American counterpart Joe Biden, saying there's "no need" for discussions at this time after conjecture the two could meet on the sidelines of the mid-November G20 summit in Indonesia (which Putin is unlikely to attend in person, though this remains an open question), markets are responding to a rare 'positive' after he indicated no plans for further massive airstrikes on Ukraine at this time. This potential hint at possible de-escalation comes after days of heightened Russian airstrikes on dozens of Ukrainian cities and towns which began Monday.

"We should ask him if he's ready to hold such talks with me or not. I don't see the need, to be honest," Putin said when asked about the possibility of meeting with Putin.