The 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 with Ukraine.
Ivan Nechepurenko and Constant Méheut
The Kremlin said Monday that preparations were underway for a phone call between President Vladimir V. Putin and President Trump, as questions swirled over the American president’s comments suggesting that power plants and “dividing up” Ukrainian assets were on the agenda.
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 but declined to disclose the conversation topics when asked whether Ukrainian power plants would be discussed.
“We never get ahead of things,” said the spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, since in Moscow’s “opinion the contents of conversations between the two leaders cannot be discussed a priori.”
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