Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday discussed the Ukraine conflict, Western sanctions, and Moscow’s potential engagement with the US in light of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the Kremlin has revealed.

The talks were part of their traditional New Year video call, which this time lasted over an hour and a half, according to Putin’s foreign-policy aide Yuri Ushakov. 

During the video call, the Russian leader reaffirmed Moscow’s readiness to negotiate with Washington in order to end the Ukraine conflict, according to Ushakov.

“Moscow is ready to build relations on a mutually beneficial and respectful basis if Trump’s team really shows a counter interest in this,” Ushakov said. 

The newly-inaugurated US president has repeatedly promised to stop the fighting between Moscow and Kiev within 24 hours after he’s back in office. 

On Sunday, CNN reported that Trump’s team was allegedly planning for a phone call with Moscow, which, the network’s sources claimed, could take place shortly after the inauguration. US media outlets have recently reported that Trump’s team is mulling a peace plan for Ukraine which could include a ceasefire along the current front lines and the creation of an 800-mile (1,300-kilometer) demilitarized zone patrolled by European troops.

Putin on Monday welcomed Trump’s statements about wanting to restore relations with Russia and prevent the proxy conflict over Ukraine from developing into a world war.

The Russian presidential aide also told reporters on Tuesday that Moscow has not been contacted by the White House on the issue of scheduling a phone call between the countries’ leaders.

Xi, in turn, provided Putin with details of his recent conversation with Trump which took place on January 17 and was unrelated to the incoming president’s inauguration.

Moscow and Beijing also discussed the steady growth of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries despite the unprecedented Western sanctions.

“The heads of state stressed the need to further improve transport interconnectivity, modernize border infrastructure, checkpoints, and increase cargo traffic between our countries,” including within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Ushakov noted.

Putin and Xi also talked about joint energy projects, including the Far Eastern pipeline route, which they said is progressing as planned. Moscow and Beijing signed an agreement for additional Russian pipeline gas deliveries from the shelf off Sakhalin Island to China in February 2023. Energy supplies via the pipeline are scheduled to start in 2027.

Work on other joint initiatives, such as the Power of Siberia 2 mega pipeline, and the construction of power units at two Chinese nuclear power plants, is also underway, Ushakov said.