Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow does not rule out the possibility of communication between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump before Trump's official inauguration in January.
According to Peskov, on Thursday, Xinhua news agency quoted him that Trump had previously said he would call Putin before the inauguration.
Adding, the spokesperson said that work on organizing a meeting between Putin and Trump is not underway yet.
He is US president between the years 2017 and 2021. Trump won the US presidential race during last night. He defeated the Democratic candidate and the current Vice President Kamala Harris.
While winning a historic second term in the White House on Wednesday, Donald Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine before taking the oath of office. His criticism of the support outgoing President Joe Biden offered to Ukraine has raised concerns in Kyiv that Washington might suspend arms deliveries and thus weaken the defences of the country as Moscow extends its territorial gains gradually.
"It's not excluded," Peskov said, answering the question on whether there can be contact between Putin and Trump before January 20 inauguration.
"(Trump) has said he'd call Putin before the inauguration. These are his words, we have nothing else to say here yet."
On Wednesday, Peskov said Putin remains "open" to contact with Trump but indicated that Russia would not take the first step in re-establishing communication.
Kurt Volker, Trump's envoy for the Russia-Ukraine war between 2017 and 2019, said he expects Trump to contact the Kremlin leader with the goal of a swift resolution to the war.
"I think he's going to make a phone call to Putin as quickly as possible and tell Putin that he needs to stop the war," Volker told the Kyiv Independent shortly after the election results were called on Wednesday.
"That will start a discussion about how that actually happens," Volker added.
"I don't think Trump wants to see this war continue once he's actually in office."
Wall Street Journal reporting has determined advisers in Trump's transition team have floated several proposals that would essentially freeze the war in Ukraine, cementing Moscow's gains on territory.
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