Kremlin denies as “pure fiction” reports of Putin-Trump call
- 11 November, 09:50
The Kremlin on Monday denied as “pure fiction” media reports about a phone call between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and US president-elect Donald Trump.
“It is completely untrue. It is pure fiction; it is simply false information,” the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said when asked about the call. “There was no conversation,” he stressed.
Peskov’s statement follows Washington Post report that Trump warned Putin against escalating the conflict in Ukraine, reminding the Russian leader of “Washington’s sizeable military presence in Europe.” According to Washington Post report published on Thursday, the call took places after Putin called Trump on Thursday to congratulate the president-elect and to express his admiration for the way Trump handled the assassination attempt during a campaign rally. According to some sources, Trump reportedly voiced an interest in follow-up conversations to discuss “the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon.”
Trump has not confirmed the phone call with Putin yet, with the president-elect’s communication director, Steven Cheung, releasing a statement saying: “We do not comment on private calls between President Trump and other world leaders.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said it was not told in advance about the reported call between Trump and Putin.
Trump who secured the second term presidency in an election last week, has repeatedly pledged to end the Russia-Ukraine war. The president-elect is also critical of hefty US military aid to Ukraine.
