«Our president [Vladimir Putin] has repeatedly said that we are ready for a dialogue and are calmly waiting for signals,» Ushakov said. «Usually the president or leader who comes to power is the first to make the call,» the Kremlin official said about the customary practice.

«We are not sitting and waiting. We calmly understand the whole situation and we know that sooner or later we will receive some signals from Washington. We are ready for them. We are ready to listen to the relevant proposals and respond to them constructively,» he explained.

According to the presidential aide, if both sides make reciprocal moves, first there will be some communication behind closed doors between the relevant services and agencies, in particular, between the White House and the Russian presidential staff.

«Then questions about the further dialogue, including a possible conversation at the highest level, will be decided,» he explained, noting that the leaders of the two countries might initiate such a conversation at any time.

Asked about technical obstructions that may arise in the context of numerous sanctions, including visa problems, Ushakov expressed the certainty that on the condition of the supreme political will these obstacles could be easily surmounted.

«For a start, after all, it is necessary to agree on the fundamental issues. When some agreements have been reached, or are somewhere near in sight, then it will be the turn of practical issues, which in the case of a high-level agreement on some important step, it seems to me, will be easier to resolve,» he said.