Kremlin says Putin ready to speak with Trump

When asked on Friday whether a long-awaited phone call between Putin and Trump, who has vowed to quickly end the Ukraine conflict, could take place over the weekend, Peskov would neither confirm nor deny the possibility.

“Putin is ready, we are waiting for signals. Everyone is ready. It is difficult to read the tea leaves. If something happens, we will let you know,” he told reporters.

On Thursday, several days after his inauguration, Trump said that he was ready for a meeting with the Russian president to discuss the Ukraine conflict, adding that “from what I hear, Putin would like to see me.”

“Every day we don’t meet, soldiers are being killed on the battlefield,” the US president remarked.

Earlier, media reports suggested that Trump’s team was eyeing a peace plan for Ukraine, which could include a ceasefire along the current front lines and the creation of an 800-mile demilitarized zone patrolled by European troops. Additionally, the roadmap would reportedly see Kiev’s agreement to delay its aspirations for NATO membership for at least 20 years.

Moscow, however, has ruled out a freezing of the conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the Kremlin “is, of course, not satisfied” with proposals to postpone Kiev’s NATO ambitions and deploy a Western peacekeeping contingent in Ukraine.

Russia has insisted that hostilities will only end when Ukraine commits to permanent neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification, stressing that Kiev must recognize the territorial “realities on the ground.” Moscow has stated that it has always been open to talks with Ukraine, but that any deal must include “reliable, legally binding agreements eliminating the root causes of the conflict.”