Kremlin denies reports of Trump-Putin phone call
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday debunked denied suggesting a phone call took place between U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. "There was no conversation," Peskov emphatically stated to journalists, pointing to the incident as an example of "the quality of information sometimes circulated even by reputable media outlets. This is entirely false. It's pure fiction, plain misinformation," he stressed.
Earlier, The Washington Post had cited unnamed sources claiming that Trump and Putin had held a telephone conversation on November 7. The report indicated that Trump allegedly called Putin from his Florida residence, cautioned the Russian leader against escalating the situation in Ukraine, and "reminded him of the significant presence of U.S. military forces in Europe."
The sources also noted that both leaders discussed "the goal of achieving peace in Europe," with Trump expressing interest in further discussions to resolve the Ukraine conflict soon.
WP also reported that Trump was eager to pursue subsequent contacts with Putin to discuss a "swift resolution" to the war. The president-elect had privately indicated he would support an option where Russia maintains control over "some of the annexed territories," mentioning this in exchange with Putin.
The publication underlined that the conversation wasn't official since Trump's transition team hadn't signed documents allowing presidential calls through the U.S. State Department. Moreover, WP highlighted Trump's distrust of state officials due to leaks of transcripts of his calls during his first presidency.
The WP article also mentioned that Ukrainian authorities were allegedly informed of Trump's call with Putin. According to two unnamed sources, officials in Kyiv did not oppose the conversation. "Ukrainian officials have long realized that Trump will engage with Putin on a diplomatic resolution for Ukraine," the sources purportedly stated.
However, Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the WP publication by denying the accuracy of the claims. "Reports that the Ukrainian side was informed in advance about the supposed call are false. Therefore, Ukraine could neither approve nor oppose the conversation," official representative Georgiy Tikhy stated to Reuters.