Trump Team Not in Contact with Kremlin Over Ukraine: Russia

The Kremlin says Putin and Trump appear ready for a meeting but it was still waiting for word from Washington.

Mon Jan 27 2025
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MOSCOW: No-one in US President Donald Trump’s new administration has made contact with the Kremlin about setting up a meeting with Vladimir Putin, Russian officials said Monday.

Trump, who wants a deal to end the Ukraine war, told reporters he was willing to meet the Russian president “immediately” to reach a deal on ending the nearly three-year conflict in Ukraine, but neither side has indicated when talks might happen.

“Contacts with the new administration have not started,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian state news agencies on Monday, adding there had been no “direct” communication with members of Trump’s administration.

“What we have in terms of dialogue with Washington is carried out through embassies, as before,” he added.

The Kremlin said Monday both leaders appeared ready for a high-level meeting, but that it was still waiting for word from Washington.

“So far, we have not received any signals from the Americans. The readiness remains. The same readiness, as we have heard, remains on the American side,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

In a post on his Truth Social network last Wednesday, Trump said he was “not looking to hurt Russia” but would impose more sanctions and hike tariffs on the country if Putin did not make a deal to settle the conflict.

Putin on Friday said he was ready for talks, praising Trump as a “smart” and “pragmatic” man who might have prevented the Ukraine offensive from starting in the first place.

ALSO READ: Putin Says Russia Open to Ukraine Peace Talks with Trump Administration

Addressing media reports alleging that US President Joe Biden and Putin have maintained indirect closed communication channels since the war, Peskov dismissed the claims, saying there has been no political dialogue between Moscow and Washington during this period, only technical-level contacts.

“There are certain channels of communication between Washington and Moscow, both through military and diplomatic lines. However, these are limited to technical interactions. There has been no political or high-level dialogue, and there is none now,” he said.

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