Trump says he is in serious discussions with Russia about Ukraine

According to RIA Novosti on February 1, US President Donald Trump said he is having "very serious" discussions with Russia about ending the conflict in Ukraine.

"We are having very serious discussions with Russia, yes," President Trump told reporters at the White House when asked about the dialogue between Washington and Moscow to end the conflict in Ukraine.

Mr Trump also said he would "talk" to Russian leader Vladimir Putin about ending the conflict in Ukraine and could achieve "something substantial".

At the same time, the White House owner once again affirmed that he intends to end the conflict in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Mr. Trump's special representative on the Ukraine issue, Keith Kellogg, said that the US President intends to create leverage for Ukraine and Russia in negotiations to resolve the conflict.

“He knows where to push, where not to push, but more importantly, he will create leverage for both the Ukrainians and the Russians. And you can read between the lines that this is really about creating leverage. The president makes great cases,” the special envoy said in an interview with Fox News on January 31.

Earlier, on January 30, President Trump refused to disclose details of his contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, but noted that the situation in the region was developing "very well".

On the same day, Russian President's press secretary Dmitry Peskov once again emphasized that there are currently no plans for contact between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump.

Earlier, President Putin announced his readiness to negotiate calmly with President Trump on all areas of mutual interest. Mr. Trump said he wanted to meet Mr. Putin "immediately."

Moscow has repeatedly expressed its readiness for negotiations on Ukraine, but in October 2022, Kiev imposed an executive ban on such communications.