Russia said on March 11 it may engage in talks with the United States in the coming days, following U.S. President Donald Trump's statement that he might speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week.
"We do not rule out contacts with U.S. representatives within the next few days," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told state news agencies.
After Kyiv signaled its willingness to accept Washington's proposal for an immediate, temporary 30-day ceasefire, extendable by mutual agreement, Trump emphasized the need to engage with Russia, expressing hope that Putin would also agree and that negotiations could move forward.
"It takes two for tango, as I have already said, so I hope he (Putin) will also agree as well, and I really think that would be 75% of the way, the rest is getting it documented," Trump said. "We will have a big meeting with Russia tomorrow."
"Ukraine has agreed to it, and hopefully Russia will agree to it. We're going to meet with them later on, today and tomorrow, and hopefully, we'll be able to wipe out a deal. But I think the ceasefire is very important. If we can get Russia to do it, that'll be great. If we can't, we just keep going on, and people are going to get killed, lots of people," Trump told reporters at the White House.
Cease-fire negotiations gained fresh momentum during talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after previously stalling following a heated confrontation between the Ukrainian and U.S. presidents at the White House.
In the wake of that tense exchange, the Trump administration had halted all military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
The joint statement issued on March 11 marked a significant development, coming just hours after Russian officials reported that Ukrainian drones had launched the largest attack on Moscow since the war began.
The United States agreed to lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine, Ukraine's Presidential Office announced following the meetings.
Olena Goncharova
(Updated: )
