Moscow has officially acknowledged its contacts with the U.S. for the first time: here's what we know.

For the first time, Moscow has officially confirmed the existence of diplomatic contacts with the United States. The Russian side emphasizes the confidentiality of the negotiations and refuses to disclose any details.

The question of a potential meeting between Putin and Trump remains open. This is reported by Russian media citing a statement from Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov.

"There are indeed certain contacts, but there are no grounds to discuss the details on this matter. Overall, the process is ongoing," Ryabkov stated. According to him, there is currently no agreed schedule for meetings between the presidents of the two countries.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on information regarding a supposed phone conversation between the heads of state on February 10. "I cannot confirm or deny this", he noted.

Recall that on Sunday it became known that Donald Trump spoke with Putin regarding the war in Ukraine. According to The New York Post, the American president wanted to negotiate with the Kremlin leader on ending the hostilities.

"People are dying every day. This war is so bad in Ukraine. I want to put an end to this cursed business," Trump stated. The American president once again emphasized that the three-year war "would never have happened" if he had been president in 2022.

Earlier, "Telegraph" reported that Putin's representatives stated they were ready for negotiations with Zelensky. However, Peskov made sure to mention that Russia does not consider Zelensky the legitimate leader of Ukraine.