Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that communication between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump is "extremely important" for an agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
Peskov's comments came after Trump said earlier on Friday that he was ready to meet with Putin "as soon as we can arrange it" to seek a ceasefire in the conflict. "I think it's time to just do it. ... We will do it," he said.
"The contacts between President Putin and Trump are extremely important in the context of the Ukrainian settlement," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a daily press conference on Friday. "Of course, we agree with this thesis. "That value can hardly be overstated," he added.
Peskov did not provide information on the possible timing of a meeting between Putin and Trump.
On Thursday, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to the United Arab Emirates, Trump said that "nothing will happen" until he and Putin "meet."
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in Istanbul on Friday for their first direct peace talks in more than three years, prompted by Trump's push to help end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.
The talks lasted less than two hours and ended without a breakthrough. According to Reuters sources, Russia is demanding the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops as a condition for a ceasefire, which a Ukrainian diplomatic source described as "unrealistic and unacceptable."