Russia says Putin open to talks with Trump

The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin was still "open" to speaking to Donald Trump after the US president said he was "very angry" with the Russian leader over the lack of progress on a ceasefire in Ukraine.

"This process is time-consuming, probably due to the fact of the complexity of the substance. The president remains open to contact with President Trump," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

He added that "there is no scheduled" phone call between the leaders, but that "when it is necessary, their conversation will be promptly organized."

Trump told NBC News earlier that he was very angry after Putin last week criticized the credibility of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's leadership, the television network reported, citing a telephone interview early Sunday.

The US president also threatened to impose secondary tariffs of 25% to 50% on buyers of Russian oil if he felt Moscow was blocking his efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Russia in talks with US on rare earths deal, top official says

Russia and the United States are discussing possible cooperation on Russian rare earth minerals, according to Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund.

In an interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia published on Monday, he said that companies have already expressed interest in these ventures, although he did not provide further details.

"Rare earth metals and elements are an important area of cooperation, and we have certainly begun discussions on various rare earth projects in Russia," Dmitriev said.

Rare earths are metals essential to modern technology, including smartphones, laptops and electric cars.