Russian President Vladimir Putin says  the focus is on building trust

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that preparations were being made for expert-level talks between Russia and the United States to follow up on a high-level meeting last week and an earlier call between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that there was an understanding that Trump and Putin should meet in person after thorough preparation, but said there were no details yet on when and where this would happen.

He said the two leaders could speak again by phone if needed, but there were no current plans for this.

"Contacts are being prepared at the expert level through the ministries of foreign affairs," Peskov said, without providing any further details.

Trump has expressed a desire to bring about a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war as soon as possible. His rapid moves to repair relations with Moscow, reversing the policy of the previous Joe Biden administration, have raised fears in Kyiv and among its European allies that they could be sidelined.

Putin this week tempered expectations for a quick deal on Ukraine, saying that US-Russia contacts would initially focus on repairing trust between Moscow and Washington.

Putin told Russian state television that Trump was approaching the Russia-Ukraine conflict rationally and not emotionally, but gave the impression it might not end as soon as Trump would like.

Both his telephone conversation with Trump and recent talks between the United States and Russia in Riyadh touched on the issue of resolution of the conflict in Ukraine, Putin added.

"But it was not discussed in detail," he said. "We only agreed that we would move toward this. And in this case, of course, we are not refusing the participation of European countries."

"In order to resolve complex and rather acute issues, such as related to Ukraine, both Russia and the United States must take the first step," Putin said.

The next few rounds of talks and high-level contacts will be devoted to building that trust, Putin said, but once the talks turn to reaching a settlement to the conflict, the presence of European partners will be logical.

"Their participation in the negotiating process is needed. We never rejected that, we held constant discussions with them."