Nebenzya pointed to Russia's openness to contacts with the U.S. on Ukraine on an equal basis

Moscow is open to contacts with Washington on the issue of Ukraine on an equal basis and is waiting for relevant signals. This was stated by Russia's permanent representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya on February 9.

"We are open to contacts, but on an equal basis and with mandatory consideration of Russian interests. We are waiting for appropriate signals from the American side," he said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

Nebenzya recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin has also repeatedly stated the country's openness to negotiations based on current realities.

Russian Permanent Representative to the UN emphasized that initiative from both sides is needed to start a dialog. Thus, much in this issue depends on the decisions of the administration of US President Donald Trump, Nebenzya added.

In business readiness: Putin assessed the prospects for talks with Trump

Will Russian and US leaders be able to agree on ways to resolve the Ukrainian conflict and other issues?

Earlier in the day, Trump said he had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. The official representative of the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov in turn did not confirm or deny these data.

Prior to that, on February 5, Trump said that Washington is currently holding "very constructive talks" with Moscow and Kiev to find a way to resolve the current conflict. At the same time, Peskov said that Russia and theUnited States are holding talks with each other at the level of separate agencies and their dialog has recently become more active.