Russia-Ukraine conflict Highlights | Russia ready to continue talks with West on missiles, says Putin

Stocks in Europe and on Wall Street rebounded on Tuesday while oil prices fell after Russia indicated it was withdrawing some troops from exercises near Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin said he saw room for further discussion with the West.

Gold and bond prices also slid as safe-haven assets lost some of their appeal with tensions easing a bit over Ukraine, but NATO said it had yet to see any evidence of de-escalation.

The dollar index pared some losses as Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke, a sign tensions over Ukraine haven't been resolved. But the index later moved lower, down 0.335%, as its safe-haven appeal also lost some lustre. The euro up 0.52% to $1.1364.

The U.S. dollar eased and the euro strengthened on Tuesday as Russia said some of its troops were returning to base after exercises near Ukraine, reducing some investor anxiety over the crisis in the region.

Concern over the Russia-Ukraine standoff had driven gains in the safe-haven dollar recently.

The U.S. dollar index was down 0.2%, while the euro was up 0.3% against the dollar at $1.1343 and the U.S. dollar was up 0.2% against the yen at 115.74.

The Russian rouble strengthened 1.41% versus the greenback at 75.71 per dollar.

Gold prices retreated from a multi-month peak on Tuesday while palladium slipped more than 5% as news about some Russian troops near Ukraine returning to their bases drove a rebound in riskier assets.

Spot gold was down 1.3% to $1,846.46 per ounce by 1318 GMT, after hitting its highest level since June 11 at $1,879.48. U.S. gold futures fell nearly 1% to $1,851.00.

"What we saw late on Friday in the U.S. session and going into Monday was all driven by the fear of Russian invasion. So any sign that it's less likely, is weighing on gold pulling it back from those highs," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.

Only Ukraine and NATO should determine Kyiv's bid to join the alliance, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said after meeting his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio in Kyiv on Tuesday.

"No one but Ukraine and NATO members should have a say in the discussions about Ukraine's future NATO membership," Kuleba said.

The meeting with Di Maio came hours after Russia said it was withdrawing some of its troops deployed near Ukraine and as Russia's parliament asked President Vladimir Putin to recognise two territories held by pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine's east.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said that the nation is prepared to continue dialogue on missiles and other security issues with the West, speaking in Moscow with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Tensions in Europe have run high in recent weeks on Western fears Russia may invade neighbouring Ukraine, which Moscow denied is its intention. Russia said on Tuesday some of its troops were returning to base after exercises near Ukraine.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday that Russia must take concrete steps, such as troop withdrawals, to de-escalate tensions over Ukraine.

"Every real step towards de-escalation would be cause for hope," Baerbock said at a news conference with her Spanish counterpart after Russia said some troops were returning to base following exercises near Ukraine.

Moscow has not said how many of the roughly 130,000 troops massed along the Ukrainian border it plans to withdraw and NATO said it had not seen any evidence of a drawdown, prompting a mixture of cautious optimism and scepticism from the West.

"It is now up to Russia to embark on the path of de-escalation and underpin it with very concrete steps such as troop withdrawal," Baerbock said.

Britain threatened on Tuesday to block Russian companies from raising capital in London and to expose property and company ownership if Russia invades Ukraine, saying the West must remain united on the cost to Moscow of any conflict.

Russia has massed troops and military equipment on the Ukrainian border, drawing warnings from Britain, the United States, the European Union, and other allies of drastic economic sanctions the moment any invasion occurs.

Last week Britain put in place new legislation enabling it to impose broader sanctions than it previously could on Russian individuals and entities determined to be involved in destabilising Ukraine or supporting the Russian government.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia is ready to discuss confidence-building measures with US, NATO

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) wants to create a platform for talks to prevent crises like the one in Ukraine, the Polish foreign minister said on Tuesday, as he called for further dialogue on the standoff.

"We would like to create an informal platform for open political discussion between OSCE nations, which would allow for the discussion of mechanisms for stopping crises like the present one," said Zbigniew Rau, who is serving as chairman of the OSCE, during a visit to Moscow.

Russia said on Tuesday some of its military units were returning to their bases after exercises near Ukraine and mocked repeated Western warnings about a looming invasion, but NATO said it had yet to see any sign of de-escalation on the ground.

Russia did not say how many units were being withdrawn, and how far, after a build-up of some 130,000 Russian troops to the north, east and south of Ukraine that has triggered one of the worst crises in relations with the West since the Cold War.

Japan is ready to extend at least $100 million in emergency loans to Ukraine, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday, the Japanese government said in a summary of their phone call.

The offer comes as Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops near the Ukraine border, raising fears of war and casting a shadow over the Ukrainian economy. Moscow denies planning to invade Ukraine, accusing the West of hysteria.

Zelenskiy expressed his gratitude for the offer, according to the written summary of the two leaders' exchange.

United States intelligence officials on Tuesday accused a conservative financial news website with a significant American readership of amplifying Kremlin propaganda and alleged five media outlets targeting Ukrainians have taken direction from Russian spies.

The officials said Zero Hedge, which has 1.2 million Twitter followers, published articles created by Moscow-controlled media that were then shared by outlets and people unaware of their nexus to Russian intelligence. The officials did not say whether they thought Zero Hedge knew of any links to spy agencies and did not allege direct links between the website and Russia.

Zero Hedge denied the claims and said it tries to publish a wide spectrum of views that cover both sides of a given story.

France has not yet verified whether Russia is pulling back some troops from Ukraine's border but if the information is correct, this would be a "positive sign", French government spokesman Gabriel Attal told journalists.

"If it is confirmed, this is a good thing," Attal said, adding: "This shows (...) we can continue the dialogue, that the path of diplomacy is a path on which we can move further."

Russia's defence ministry said earlier that some troops in the country's military districts adjacent to Ukraine were returning to their bases after completing drills, boosting the rouble on foreign exchange markets.

NATO's chief also welcomed signals that Russia may be looking for a diplomatic solution amid a military build-up on Ukraine's border but urged Moscow to demonstrate its will to act.