The Kremlin has denied reports that claimed the US President-elect Donald Trump has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin where the American leader reportedly urged Putin to not escalate the war in Ukraine.
Casting the media reports as “pure fiction”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday said Putin has no specific plans to speak to Trump at the present.
Asked if Putin had plans for any contacts with Trump, Peskov said: “There are no concrete plans yet.”
The Washington Post first reported that Trump held the call from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Thursday, just days after his stunning election victory over Democratic rival Kamala Harris.
The Post, quoting several people familiar with the call who spoke on the basis of anonymity, reported that Trump reminded Putin of the US military’s sizeable presence in Europe. They said he also expressed an interest in further conversations to discuss “the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon”.
Reuters news agency also said the call took place, citing sources who were not authorised to reveal their identities to the media.
Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director, did not confirm the exchange, telling the AFP news agency in a written statement that “we do not comment on private calls between President Trump and other world leaders.”
