Kremlin says US and Russia are only beginning to "restore" relations

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has stated that the path to improving bilateral relations between Russia and the US will be "long and difficult", adding that the two countries are only at the initial stage.

As reported by the Russian news agency Interfax, Peskov said that Russia and the US are "at the early stage of restoring our bilateral relations".

"The path will be quite long and difficult, but at least both presidents have expressed political will in this direction," Peskov told journalists on Monday, 10 March. [N.B. Ukrainska Pravda does not recognise Putin as president – ed.]

He noted that Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have so far had only one phone conversation but described it as "constructive enough to maintain dialogue and address issues".

Earlier, CNN reported that US officials would meet not only with Ukrainian but also Russian representatives in Saudi Arabia this week. However, Russia’s Foreign Ministry denied this information.