The White House pointed to the approach to peace in Ukraine

Russia and the United States are closer than ever to resolving the conflict in Ukraine. This was stated on March 17 at a briefing by White House press Secretary Carolyn Levitt, commenting on the upcoming conversation between US leader Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The speech was broadcast on the website of the American administration.

"I will not get ahead of these negotiations, but I can say that we are ten yards away from achieving peace, and we have never been as close to a peace agreement as we are at this moment. And President [Trump], as you know, is determined to achieve this," the spokeswoman said.

Also, according to Levitt, representatives of the United States and Ukraine discussed the issue of Kiev's cession of territories during the settlement.

"It was part of a discussion between the president's team and Ukrainians. As for where these lines will run or any specific details, I'm not going to discuss it from this rostrum," the White House spokeswoman stressed.

Point of view: Russia is ready to react to a turn in relations with the United States in an unfavorable direction

What to expect from further contacts between Moscow and Washington on the Ukrainian settlement

The American leader said earlier that day that he was going to have a conversation with Putin on March 18. According to him, there are currently "good chances" to resolve the Ukrainian conflict.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in turn, noted that preparations for a telephone conversation between the heads of state are underway on the topics on the agenda. He clarified that the issue of the Ukrainian settlement will be mainly discussed.