Russia forming negotiation team for talks with US: Kremlin

ISTANBUL

Russia is forming a negotiation team for discussions with the US, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters in Moscow, Peskov said there were no specific agreements yet on a visit by US negotiators to Russia, but Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump have agreed to maintain direct communication, including at the level of their aides.

He did not clarify who initiated Wednesday's phone call between Putin and Trump and also did not confirm if it was their first conversation since the latter's inauguration on Jan. 20.

Peskov described the conversation as “very important” given the lack of high-level contact between Russia and the US in recent years.

He said sanctions on Russia were not discussed during the call, but reiterated the stance that they are “illegal.”

Regarding a potential face-to-face meeting between Putin and Trump, Peskov said there was no schedule at the time and urged patience. The US president on Wednesday said he would probably meet his Russian counterpart in Saudi Arabia "in not too distant future."

About possible negotiations on Ukraine, the Kremlin official said it remains unclear which parties might be involved, including China. However, he welcomed the new US administration’s position of wanting to end the conflict in Ukraine, which has continued since February 2022.

He stressed that defining specific parameters for a Ukrainian settlement was premature and that the outcomes of initial Russia-US talks should be awaited. He said Moscow would always take into account the experience of the Minsk agreements in any future negotiations.