The Kremlin said on Friday that Russia remained open to a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and President-elect Donald Trump, but that any concrete steps to set up such talks could be made only after Trump is sworn into office on Jan. 20.

Responding to comments made on Thursday by Trump, who said that Putin wants to meet him to discuss the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin’s spokesperson reaffirmed Russia’s long-standing official position that Moscow was ready to talk.

“We need a mutual desire and political willingness to engage in a dialogue,” Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, told reporters. “We see that Mr. Trump also declares his readiness to solve issues via dialogue. “We welcome that.”

Peskov added that the Kremlin’s understanding is that there is a “mutual readiness for a meeting,” but, he said, “it looks like things will start to move after Trump enters the Oval Office.”

He did not confirm that Putin had requested a meeting with Trump or that one was being set up, as Trump said Thursday night.

A spokesperson for Ukraine’s foreign ministry said Friday that Kyiv expected President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would also meet with Trump after the inauguration.

The spokesperson, Heorhii Tykhyi, said Ukraine was preparing for talks at “the highest levels.”

As for Trump’s remarks about potential talks with Russia’s leader, Tykhyi said that the president-elect had “previously mentioned plans for such a meeting, so we see nothing new in this.”