Today's Edition
Washington (AFP)
US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are expected to speak this week, officials said on Sunday, as Washington and Kyiv's European allies press Moscow to accept a ceasefire in the three-year war.
The United States this week proposed a halt in fighting in the war after talks in Saudi Arabia, with Kyiv accepting the proposal.
Putin however has given no clear answer, instead listing a string of conditions and raising "serious questions" over the proposition.
Trump's envoy for the conflict, Steve Witkoff, who met for several hours with Putin days ago, told CNN in a televised interview that he thinks "the two presidents are going to have a really good and positive discussion this week."
Earlier the Moscow said that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and that the pair had discussed "concrete aspects of the implementation of understandings" at a US-Russia summit in Saudi Arabia last month.
The February Riyadh gathering was the first high-level meeting between the United States and Russia since Moscow launched its invasion in February 2022.
"Sergei Lavrov and Marco Rubio agreed to remain in contact," the Russian foreign ministry said, with no mention of the US-suggested ceasefire.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Saturday that the pair had "discussed the next steps" on Ukraine.
She also said Rubio and Lavrov "agreed to continue working towards restoring communication between the United States and Russia".
The Lavrov-Rubio call came hours after the UK hosted a virtual summit on Ukraine, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer accusing Putin of "dragging his feet" on the ceasefire.
Putin said he wanted to discuss Moscow's concerns with Trump in a phone call.
