The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to searching for compromises with his U.S. counterpart on "all" issues except the status of Ukraine's Crimea region, which Moscow claims is part of Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the comments on July 2, ahead of a planned summit between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump in Helsinki on July 16.
Relations between Moscow and Washington have deteriorated to a post-Cold War low over issues including Russia's seizure of Crimea in March 2014, its role in wars in Syria and eastern Ukraine, and its meddling into the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Peskov said on a conference call with reporters that Putin "stated multiple times and explained to his interlocutors that such an item as Crimea can never appear on the agenda, considering that Crimea is an integral part of Russia."
"All the rest are matters [subject to] consensus, discussion, and a search for possible points of contact," he added.
Trump, asked on June 29 whether reports about him dropping Washington's opposition to the Russian annexation of Crimea were true, said, "We're going to have to see."
White House national security adviser John Bolton, who met with Putin in Moscow on June 27, later ruled out the possibility of abandoning Washington's opposition to the takeover.
"That's not the position of the United States," he told CBS on July 1.
The European Union, the United States, and other countries have imposed sanctions against Russia over actions including its seizure of Crimea and its role in a war that has killed more than 10,300 people in eastern Ukraine.
