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The Kremlin said on Monday that work was underway to prepare the second phone call between President Vladimir V. Putin and President Trump but refused to disclose what will be on the agenda, as American officials continued to project optimism about a U.S.-backed cease-fire deal with Ukraine.
The highly anticipated phone call, scheduled for Tuesday, will be the first known conversation between the two leaders since Mr. Putin laid out numerous conditions for a cease-fire that could delay or derail any truce.
Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening, Mr. Trump said that he expected to discuss territorial issues with Mr. Putin as well as the fate of Ukrainian power plants. He also noted that there had already been discussions about “dividing up certain assets.”
“We want to see if we can bring that war to an end,” Mr. Trump said. “Maybe we can. Maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good chance.”
The Kremlin’s spokesman confirmed at a briefing on Monday that a call was expected to take place the following day. When asked whether Ukrainian nuclear power plants would be discussed, the spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said that in Moscow’s “opinion the contents of conversations between the two leaders cannot be discussed a priori.”
“That is why we will not do that,” he said.
In recent weeks, Russia and the United States have engaged in tightrope bargaining over the war in Ukraine that Mr. Putin started more than three years ago. Ukraine has agreed to support a U.S.-backed monthlong cease-fire, as long as Russia does the same.
While Mr. Trump has unequivocally showcased his wish to achieve some sort of truce as quickly as possible, Mr. Putin seems to be seeking to exploit the moment to win more concessions.
Speaking about the proposal for a 30-day cease-fire last week, Mr. Putin said the idea was “the right one and we definitely support it.”
“But there are questions that we need to discuss, and I think that we need to talk them through with our American colleagues and partners,” he told a news conference.
Those remarks came just before Mr. Putin met with Steve Witkoff, who serves as Mr. Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East. But he has been involved in the peace talks over Ukraine and other discussions about restoring ties between Moscow and Washington.
Mr. Witkoff told CNN on Sunday that his meeting with Russia’s leader had lasted three to four hours. He declined to share the specifics of their conversation, but said it went well and that the two sides had “narrowed the differences between them.”
Moscow’s push to drive out Ukrainian troops from most of the Kursk region of Russia in recent days has deprived Kyiv of an important bargaining chip in any potential negotiations. Mr. Putin now appears to be using the Ukrainian retreat in Kursk to try and strengthen his hand in talks with the Trump administration about pausing the hostilities.
