WASHINGTON, June 3. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump remains positive about progress in resolving the crisis in Ukraine, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

"I've spoken to him about it just this morning," she told reporters. "He remains positive about the progress that we're seeing."

"As you know, Russia and Ukraine engaged in direct talks yesterday. That was at the encouragement of this president when he spoke to both leaders of both countries via phone just a couple of weeks ago," the spokeswoman went on to say. "I would just like to remind everybody how far we have come in just four months. I mean, it was inconceivable last year, at this time, for Russia and Ukraine to be engaged in direct talks, and it's because of the president's insistence and determination to get this war to an end that these countries sat down yesterday."

Asked whether Trump supports the Senate moving forward with the bill imposing heavy sanctions on Russia, she said, "He has smartly kept this as a tool in his toolbox if necessary."

The second round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine was held in Istanbul on June 2. The meeting lasted a little over an hour; the delegations communicated in Russian. The sides exchanged documents containing their visions for settling the conflict. Vladimir Medinsky, the presidential aide heading the Russian delegation, said Moscow had given the Ukrainian side a memorandum consisting of two parts.

The document by Moscow suggests two options to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine. The first one proposes a complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops and other paramilitary forces from Russia’s territory, including the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic, as well as their withdrawal from Russia’s borders at a distance agreed upon by the parties in accordance with the approved provision.

The second ceasefire scenario involves a package resolution comprising 10 points. These include a ban on the redeployment of Ukrainian troops, except for steps to withdraw at a distance from Russia’s borders agreed upon by the parties, to halt mobilization and launch demobilization efforts in Ukraine. In addition, it provides for the cessation of foreign military aid to Ukraine, including the provision of intelligence and satellite communication services, as well as the refusal of the military presence of other countries in Ukraine and the participation of foreign specialists in military operations on Kiev’s side.