Russia on Monday denied report that President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump had spoken on the phone last week about the Ukraine conflict.
The denial from Kremlin comes after The Washington Post on Sunday reported that Trump spoke to Putin over the phone and discussed ending the war in Ukraine amongst many other important topics.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denying the phone call said that the Washington Post report was "simply false information", according to AFP.
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The report said that the two men discussed the goal of peace on the European continent and Trump expressed an interest in follow-up conversations to discuss 'the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon'. Trump also reminded Putin of Washington's sizeable military foothold in Europe, as per the report.
"The two men discussed the goal of peace on the European continent and Trump expressed an interest in follow-up conversations to discuss 'the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon,” one of the people said,” the report said.
“One former U.S official who was familiar with the Putin call said that Trump likely does not want to enter office with a fresh crisis in Ukraine prompted by Russian escalation, “giving him the incentive to want to keep the war from worsening,” the daily further said.
Trump is scheduled to be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, 2025. Ukraine has been informed about the Trump-Putin call. The President-elect had said during his campaign that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Putin. However, he has not elaborated how he intends to strike a peace deal or what terms he is proposing.
After winning the recent presidential elections, Trump has spoken to over 70 world leaders. Among the firsts were Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.