The Kremlin on Monday denied reports that President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump spoke over the phone last week about the war in Ukraine.
The Washington Post reported earlier that Trump, in a call made on Thursday, warned Putin against escalating the conflict and reminded the Kremlin leader of “Washington’s sizeable military presence in Europe.”
According to several sources familiar with the phone call, Trump voiced an interest in follow-up conversations to discuss “the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon.”
But the Kremlin said Monday that “no conversation happened.”
“This is completely untrue. This is pure fiction, this is simply false information,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday when asked to comment on the report.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said it was not told in advance about the reported call between Trump and Putin.
Trump, who secured a historic second term in the White House last week, has pledged to end the war in Ukraine before taking the oath of office in January.
His criticism of outgoing President Joe Biden’s support for Ukraine has raised concerns in Kyiv that Washington might suspend arms deliveries, potentially weakening Ukraine’s defense against invading Russian forces.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that advisers to Trump have put forward several proposals that would effectively freeze the war, solidifying Moscow’s territorial gains in Ukraine.
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