The Kremlin on Tuesday said that it believes US President Donald Trump retained his “political will” to resolve the situation in Ukraine.

“We continue to assume that President Trump retains the political will to facilitate the transition of the Ukrainian settlement to the channel of peaceful and political negotiations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a press briefing.

Expressing that the diplomatic dialogue between Russia and the US remained “subdued,” Peskov attributed this situation to the “great inertia” in bilateral relations.

However, Peskov stated that the situation at the level of heads of state is “slightly different,” saying Trump’s personal relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin is “more lively.”

He declined to comment on a question regarding whether Trump and Putin are expected to have a phone conversation later in the day, with the latter marking his 73rd birthday.

“I won't announce anything. We'll let you know once we've made the contacts,” he said.

Russia-Azerbaijan ties

Peskov described a phone conversation between Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev earlier in the day, the first between the two leaders since December last year, as “very important.”

A statement by Azerbaijan’s presidency said that Aliyev congratulated Putin on his birthday during the call, and that they exchanged views on the current state and prospects of Azerbaijan-Russia ties.

Baku and Moscow entered a “difficult period” in bilateral relations, as described by Peskov in July, notably after an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane crashed in Kazakhstan in December last year, killing 38 of the 67 passengers and crew members on board.

Putin spoke on the phone with Aliyev three days after the crash, offering condolences and apologizing for the incident having taken place in Russian airspace.

Meanwhile, Aliyev accused Russia of unintentionally shooting down the plane in an interview with state TV channel AzTV a day later, but urged Moscow to accept responsibility, punish those responsible, and provide compensation.

In July, the Aliyev said Baku would "apply to international justice" regarding the plane crash and had also informed Russia of this. Peskov reacted to the statement, saying it is Baku's right if it decides to file a lawsuit against Moscow on the issue in international courts, and that Russia “will wait for official verdicts.”

Baku-Moscow ties further deteriorated after the former announced the cancellation of all Russian cultural events in the country amid the death of two of its citizens during a police raid in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg late June.