Kremlin Says Russia, US 'on the Brink of a Breakup'

President Trump says he has spoken to Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine—but the Russian leader hasn't budged an inch from his earlier demands, according to the Kremlin. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Monday that relations with the US are "balancing on the brink of a breakup," NBC News reports.

• Ryabkov said a "political solution" to the conflict will require the "full implementation" of the demands Putin laid out in June last year, including an end to Ukraine's NATO ambition and full withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from four regions of the country partly controlled by Russia, reports Reuters. "This is where we are and the sooner US, Britain, and others understand it, the better it would be and the closer this desired political solution will be for everyone," he said. Russia controls 70% to 80% of the four regions.

• Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday that he had spoken to Putin about ending the conflict, but declined to disclose details, the AP reports. "I don't want to do that. We're trying to end that war," he said. "It's a war that would have never happened if I were president, it would have never happened, but we're making progress. But I can't tell you." Trump said he expects to have "many more conversations."
• On Friday, Trump told the New York Post he had "better not say" how many times he has spoken to Putin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Sunday that he couldn't confirm or deny whether Trump had spoken to Putin, Axios reports.
• Last week, Trump said he was looking at a deal to swap continued military aid for Ukraine's rare earth minerals. National security adviser Michael Waltz said Sunday that there are "certainly a lot of sensitive conversations going on" and American diplomats will be in Europe this week "talking through the details of how to end this war and that will mean getting both sides to the table," the Guardian reports. He said a natural resources "partnership" with Ukraine is being discussed, but the "underlying principle" is that the Europeans "have to own this conflict going forward" with security guarantees after an end to the war is negotiated.

(More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)