There may be progress on setting up a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump only after the U.S. President-elect takes office, Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Thursday a meeting was being set up between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin, but the Republican offered no timeline for talks between the two leaders.

Trump said a meeting between himself and Putin was being set up, however, Putin's spokesman said Moscow had received no requests to set up a meeting.

A spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the possibility of in-person talks during a Friday conference call.

Donald Trump said on Jan. 9 that Vladimir Putin wants to meet with him, and that preparations for a meeting are underway.

“He wants to meet, and we are setting it up,” Trump said during remarks at a meeting with Republican governors in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. “President Putin wants to meet. He has said that even publicly, and we have to get that war over with. That’s a bloody mess,” he added, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

The Kremlin has welcomed US President-elect Donald Trump’s readiness to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a senior Moscow official said on Friday.

However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Putin would welcome Trump’s desire to contact Russia but till now, there hasn’t been any formal requests.

The Kremlin says that Russian president Vladimir Putin is ready to meet with the elected US president, Donald Trump, but "political will" is necessary, citing the press secretary of the Russian leader,

Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to the idea of direct, personal talks with incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, though no talks have been formally scheduled, the Kremlin said Friday.