KIEV, Feb. 6 – President Petro Poroshenko and U.S. President Donald Trump had a “classy” conversation by phone on Saturday that raises hope for optimism, Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said Monday.

“This conversation was classy in tone, atmosphere,” Klimkin said. “The way the presidents understand each other, it’s important to me.”

Many in Ukraine are cautious about Trump after the U.S. president has repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and pledged to work with him.

The White House called the conversation a “very good call” addressing a variety of topics, including “Ukraine's long-running conflict with Russia.”

"We will work with Ukraine, Russia, and all other parties involved to help them restore peace along the border," Trump said in the statement posted by the White House.

The parties also discussed the potential for a meeting in the near future.

Klimkin said Trump asked “very clear” specific questions about the conflict.

"The depth of these questions and a desire to understand what is really happening, how to help, those are a very good sign to me,” Klimkin said.

Trump, in an interview with Fox New on Saturday, pledged to work with both Russia and Ukraine to restore peace on the border.

His comments come amid intense fighting in eastern Ukraine between the military and Russian-backed separatists.

The uptick in violence may be Putin’s first test of Trump.

Putin views Ukraine as a client state of the U.S. and the NATO alliance. Russia’s Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu told Russian State media in June, “The political situation along the western border of the country remains unstable.” Shoigu referred to NATO’s decision to deploy four additional battalions to the Baltic states to protect from Russian aggression.

Russia insists its military build up on the Ukrainian border is simply a routine military exercise. U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal they believe Russia may be trying to bait the Ukrainian government into a military confrontation. If Ukraine initiated a military confrontation, it would counter the Western narrative of Russian aggression and justify another Russian military incursion into Ukraine.

The ongoing war in Ukraine is in violation of the Minsk 2 agreement, which Russia is bound by. Russia originally invaded Ukraine by dispatching troops in 2014 in un-flagged uniforms. These troops have come to be known as “little green men” and are portrayed by the Russian government as “volunteers.” (nr/ez)