Over the weekend President Trump said he has spoken directly to Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine, something the Kremlin neither confirmed nor denied, only saying that communications with the US administration are currently being conducted through various channels.
"I do believe we're making progress," Trump had told reporters, adding that he expects there to be more communications to come. "We want to stop the Ukraine-Russia war."
But as of Monday the Kremlin still says it has yet to be presented with any concrete offer that it would be enticed by. Moscow has received nothing to get it to the negotiating table with Ukraine, at a moment it has the clear battlefield momentum.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin expressed this to RIA state news agency
"It is important that words be backed up by practical steps that take into account Russia's legitimate interests, demonstrating a readiness to eradicate the root causes of the crisis and recognize the new realities."
"Concrete proposals of this nature have not yet been received," he emphasized.
As for the alleged Putin-Trump phone call, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said exactly the following: "in this case, I can neither confirm nor deny it" - in response to an inquiry by TASS:
But even as the White House signals progress and positive contacts with Moscow, a very different message is coming out of Russian state media on Monday. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov at a news conference has said Moscow-Washington relations are on the brink of complete rupture. Here's a summary of the remarks in TASS:
Relations between Moscow and Washington are balancing on the verge of rupture.
The administration of former US President Joe Biden "focused on hybrid warfare, introduced into its documents and imposed on allies in various alliances and configurations the idea of the possibility of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia." As a result, the "antagonistic content" of Russian-US relations intensified and has become "very critical" today.
Washington's attempts to give Moscow demands or to demonstrate the alleged doing "a great favor" in exchange for unacceptable US demands are bound to failure in the dialogue with Russia.
Specifically Russia sees an unwillingness to deal seriously and fairly on the nuclear front, after in the last half-decade several post-Cold War era treaties have collapsed:
The policy pursued by Washington "poses a significant challenge to global nuclear non-proliferation" and control over nuclear weapons is deteriorating.
Russia has not yet seen any manifestations of common sense or political will on the part of the West to overcome the crisis in the arms control system.
The situation around Russia-US dialogue on strategic stability, including the post-New START Treaty period, does not look optimistic.
Such dramatic statements suggesting a total break in formal relations from the Russian side could just be more diplomatic maneuvering and posturing to maintain leverage at the future negotiating table.
Still, it's obvious to all that the Ukraine situation remains extremely dangerous, as arms from Washington have continued to flow, after what was perhaps a very brief halt last week. Trump himself has long acknowledged this, warning that if peace is not achieved, the situation could spiral toward WW3.
