UN welcomes any contacts between Russia and the US

The UN welcomes any contacts between Russia and the United States in the context of reports about the upcoming meeting between US President-elect Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. This was stated by the official representative of the secretary general of the world organization Stephane Dujarric on January 10,

"We have seen the media reports that come from both the US and the Russian side. Certainly any dialog between the United States and Russia will be welcomed as soon as [Donald Trump] takes office," Dujarric said, his remarks shown on the UN's online streaming site.

In response to a journalist's question whether the UN was ready to participate in possible talks on the Ukrainian conflict, a topic the presidents will clearly touch on at their meeting, Dujarric said the international organization was in favor of an early resolution of the crisis and had always been ready to be a mediator.

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Earlier in the day, Trump announced preparations for a meeting with Putin. In addition, the American leader-elect noted that he plans to hold all meetings after his inauguration on January 20 and stressed that it was time to end the Ukrainian conflict.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at the time that Moscow did not have certain conditions for negotiations with Washington. The Russian presidential spokesman recalled that Putin has consistently stated that he is open to talks with international leaders, including Trump and current U.S. President Joe Biden. At the same time, there are no specifics on the meeting with the US leader-elect yet.

Before that, on January 7, Trump expressed confidence that Putin wants to hold talks with him on Ukraine. In addition, the Republican called the cause of the conflict the Biden fiasco and the incompetence of his administration. According to Trump, his team knows what to do in the context of this crisis.

The Russian president, in turn, told reporters on December 26 that Russia intends to end the conflict in Ukraine, not just freeze it.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which Putin announced on February 24, 2022, is ongoing. The decision was taken against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.