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 would be on the agenda, as American officials continued to project some 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 Ukraine agreed to support a U.S.-backed monthlong cease-fire, as long as Russia does the same. While Mr. Trump has unequivocally stated his desire to broker some sort of truce as quickly as possible, Mr. Putin seems to be seeking to exploit the moment to win more concessions.
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 on Monday that a call was expected to take place the following day. When asked whether Ukrainian power plants would be discussed, the spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said “we never get ahead of things” since 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 told a briefing.
Mr. Putin has not yet agreed to the 30-day cease-fire that U.S. officials proposed after talks with Ukrainian officials in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He has said the idea was “the right one and we definitely support it” — but laid out numerous conditions that could delay or derail any truce.
