The Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying he was ready for direct talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as "empty words".

MOSCOW - The Kremlin said on Monday it was too early to discuss a potential four-way peace talks format proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and restated its concerns about his electoral mandate.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to hold a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump and Moscow is waiting for word from Washington that it is ready too, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

Zelenskiy told the Associated Press news agency in an interview published on Saturday that he favoured four-way talks between the United States, Ukraine, Russia and the European Union and said it would be "very dangerous" for Washington and Moscow to hold talks about ending the war in his country that did not involve Kyiv.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated Russia's claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is illegitimate on Feb. 5 but said Moscow remains open to negotiations. Peskov's comments follow Zelensky's statement in an interview with U.

Russia has not rejected talks with Volodymyr Zelensky, even though President Vladimir Putin considers him an "illegal" president of Ukraine, stated Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. He also confirmed that the Kremlin is in contact with the Trump administration.