Reuters reported that on March 31, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia and the US are still working to find a peaceful solution for Ukraine as well as build bilateral relations, despite President Donald Trump's criticism of President Vladimir Putin.
In an interview, Peskov stressed that restoring bilateral relations - which were severely damaged under the previous administration - is a top priority when continuing to cooperate with the US side.
When asked about the progress of the peace solution for Ukraine, Mr. Peskov said that this is a complicated and time-consuming process, so there is currently no specific announcement.
Mr. Peskov also said that if necessary, a phone call between President Putin and President Trump could be arranged quickly, although there is currently no plan for this week.
On the same day, Mr. Trump said he felt very angry when Mr. Putin criticized the level of trust of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In an interview with NBC News at the White House, President Trump stressed that the US could impose a secondary tax of 25% to 50% on buyers of oil from Russia if Mr. Putin does not cooperate.
Trump said the deterrent move was to ensure Putin's involvement in ceasefire agreements, ending the continued deaths of Russian soldiers, Ukrainian soldiers and civilians in the conflict.
Previously, Mr. Trump - who has repeatedly declared that he would like to be remembered as a peacemaker - expressed strong ambition to end the more than 3-year conflict in Ukraine and warned of the risk of escalating into an international confrontation between Russia and the US.
In another development, on March 31, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said that Mr. Trump is the only person who can play an intermediary role in peace negotiations, because President Putin has a certain respect for him.
In an interview with Sky News, Stubb said that during a meeting with Trump in Florida the day before, the two sides discussed setting a deadline for a ceasefire in Ukraine. He stressed that without a specific deadline, implementing the ceasefire would be very difficult.
We have talked a lot about the ceasefire, about Mr. Trumps disappointment that Russia has not committed to doing so, Mr. Stubb said.
