Trump has reaffirmed his intention to broker peace in Ukraine, declaring earlier this month that “Putin wants to meet” and that such a meeting is being set up. In the past, he has criticized U.S. military aid for Ukraine and even vowed to end the conflict in a single day if elected.

MOSCOW — Russia’s top diplomat said Tuesday that Moscow is open for talks with President-elect Donald Trump and praised him for pointing to NATO’s plan to embrace Ukraine as a root cause of the nearly 3-year-old conflict.

Russia is preparing to have conversations about its war on Ukraine with the United States ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's Inauguration Day on Jan. 20 for a second term at the White House."No special conditions are needed for this.