The Russian Foreign Ministry says the United States needs to formulate its policy on ending the conflict in Ukraine and that Moscow can then base its own position on specific US action.
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have not spoken by phone since Trump's inauguration, according to public statements from officials on both sides.
Russia's RIA state news agency earlier on Thursday quoted a senior MP as saying that preparations for a meeting between Putin and Trump were at an "advanced stage" however.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said separately that Moscow had heard many words and statements from Washington on Ukraine, but that for now there was no clarity on what exactly the US envisaged when it came to trying to strike a deal to end the conflict there.
"As for the role or possible role of the United States in resolving the crisis around Ukraine, once again: everything will depend on concrete actions and on the plans of the new administration embodied in those actions," Zakharova told a news briefing in Moscow.
"For now, there are many words and many statements. (But) there is no clarity on the steps being taken (by the US), so it would be premature to talk about the prospects for negotiations or anything at all in this context.
"As for Washington, they should probably formulate their policy and we will proceed ourselves based on their concrete steps and actions," she said.
Trump and Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, have both said they are working on a plan to broker a deal to end the fighting in Ukraine but have yet to disclose full details of what that plan might look like.
Also on Thursday, Russia's defence ministry said Ukrainian troops attempted a counterattack in its western Kursk region but were repelled by Russian forces.
The ministry said Ukrainian troops and armoured vehicles had launched several waves of attacks near the villages of Ulanok and Cherkasskaya Konopelka, but that they were beaten back and the settlements were under Russian control.
Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield report. But the fact that Ukrainian forces are still capable of launching significant attacks in Kursk region highlights the stiff challenge that Russia faces to dislodge them, six months after they burst across the border to seize a chunk of Russian territory last year.
Ukraine's foothold in Kursk has shrunk significantly since the immediate aftermath of the August 6 incursion but provides it with a useful bargaining chip in potential peace talks. Russia controls about a fifth of Ukraine as the war approaches its three-year anniversary on February 24.
