MOSCOW, March 18 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble rallied

2.5% on Tuesday ahead of talks between U.S. President Donald

Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump is expected to push Putin to accept a ceasefire in

Russia's war with Ukraine and move toward a more permanent end

to the three-year conflict.

By 0750 GMT, the rouble traded at 81.40 against the

dollar in over-the-counter market, its strongest level since

June 27, 2024. The rouble is up more than 28% so far this year.

Against the Chinese yuan, the most traded foreign currency

in Russia, the rouble was up 1.3% to 11.22, also the highest

level since June 27, 2024, in trade on the Moscow Stock Exchange

(MOEX).

The rouble rally could help the central bank bring down

inflation rates if the Russian currency stays at its current

levels long enough for the exchange rate to have an impact on

prices of imported goods.

The regulator's board will convene on March 21 to discuss

the benchmark rate, which is currently at the highest level in

over 20 years. All analysts in a Reuters poll expected the

regulator to keep the rate on hold at 21%.