Trump’s comments come after he suggested progress on ending the war would only happen if he and Putin held face-to-face talks.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to Russian news agencies that preparations were under way for a call between Putin and Trump on Monday. The two leaders have held a phone call before on the topic.

“The conversation is in the works,” Peskov told Tass news agency.

Trump had said on Truth Social: “Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end.”

European leaders have been calling for Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire in the conflict.

The US and Russian leaders are expected to discuss a ceasefire, as well as the possible summit between themselves.

Moscow has moved slower than Trump would like, but it welcomed the American efforts at mediation, in a call on Saturday between the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.