Kremlin Affirms Trump Sanction Threats Don't Thwart US-Russia Negotiations

JAKARTA - The Kremlin says Russia does not believe the tougher stance US President Donald Trump has taken on Russia over the war in Ukraine will end US-Russian negotiations aimed at restoring their strained relationship.

Trump previously announced his new position by setting a deadline of 50 days for Moscow to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine or face sanctions.

The US president also promised more missiles for Kyiv, a move that the Russian Foreign Ministry criticized sharply on Thursday.

"We assume that's not what it means. Of course, this is a different issue. One of the issues is the settlement (peace) of Ukraine. Another issue is our bilateral relationship," Kremlin Vicara Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov said there were still a lot of "trouble things" and problems that needed to be resolved to improve relations with Washington which he said were "in a sad condition."

He said efforts to change the situation were time-consuming and difficult.

Moscow's dialogue with Washington seems to improve after Trump returned to office in January, but Trump is increasingly frustrated with President Vladimir Putin over the terms given by the Kremlin leader at any potential ceasefire.

Russia and Ukraine held two rounds of peace negotiations in Turkey earlier this year resulting in an agreement to exchange prisoners and soldiers' bodies.

However, the date for the third round of negotiations has not been set, and the warring parties are still at odds over the terms of the ceasefire or a peace settlement in the end.