Putin remains willing to work with Trump despite disagreements over Ukraine truce

The Kremlin wants to continue working with the White House, even after Donald Trump's statements in which he reflected his frustration with the state of the truce negotiations in Ukraine. Adding to the stalemate is that Putin suggested moving forward with negotiations if Zelensky would leave the government.

"The president remains open to any contact with President Trump," Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at his daily press briefing.

"At the moment" no new call between the two leaders is planned, but one could be "quickly arranged" if deemed "necessary," Peskov added.

"We continue to work. First of all, on the development of bilateral relations and also on the implementation of some ideas, linked to the resolution of the Ukrainian (conflict)," he said.

“The work continues. There is nothing concrete yet. This process takes a long time, probably due to the complexity of the background,” he added.

The Kremlin's statements come on top of a day in which clashes between Ukraine and Russia continue to rage. Russia on Monday accused Ukraine of having attacked and damaged energy infrastructure, in violation of the fragile agreement announced last week by the United States banning attacks on such facilities.

If this truce on energy sectors was extended to the Black Sea, Putin rejects for the moment an unconditional truce. Russia considers that paralyzing the war with the current situation would be beneficial for Ukraine. Among its other demands is to stop all aid shipments to Ukraine, both from the United States and from Zelensky's European allies.