Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to hold a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump and Moscow is waiting for word from Washington that it is ready too, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

His inauguration speech was loudest in its silence on Ukraine. But hours later, US President Donald Trump laid bare – in a trademark casual, rambling fashion – his position over the war in Ukraine. And it was tougher on the Kremlin than you might expect.

Putin has said repeatedly that he is prepared to negotiate an end to the war, which first began in 2014, but that Ukraine would have to accept the reality of Russian territorial gains, which are currently about 20% of its land. He also refuses to accept Ukraine joining Nato, the military alliance of Western countries.