Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson has rejected the reports of a phone call between the Russian president and Donald Trump as “pure fiction”.
According to the Washington Post on Sunday, the US president-elect spoke to Putin on Thursday to discourage him from any further escalation in the Ukraine war.
He reportedly reminded Putin of the US’s sizeable military presence in Europe, while also showing interest in discussing the “resolution of Ukraine’s war soon”.
But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was quick to completely dismiss the outlet’s claims on Monday.
According to Russian state news agency TASS, he told journalists: “There was no conversation. This is completely untrue; it’s pure fiction.”
Peskov said the reports from the Washington Post and Reuters were “the most remarkable example of the quality of the information that is published nowadays, sometimes even by quite respected outlets.”
Asked if Putin had plans to speak to Trump, Peskov said: “There are no concrete plans yet.”
Trump’s team did not confirm the reports, but did not deny them like Moscow.
Instead, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung told the Washington Post on Sunday: “President Trump won a historic election decisively and leaders from around the world know America will return to prominence on the world stage.
“That is why leaders have begun the process of developing stronger relationships with the 45th and 47th president because he represents global peace and stability.”
Trump promised to stop the war within 24 hours of getting into the White House during his presidential campaign, although it remains unclear how he would do so – sparking fears he may pressure Kyiv to cede land to Russia.
Despite initial speculation Putin would only be congratulating Trump on his election victory via acquaintances last week, the Russian leader praised the Republican president-elect on Thursday.
He said: “I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate him on his victory in the US presidential election. I have already said that we will work with any head of state who is trusted by the American people.”
Touching on the failed assassination attempt on Trump’s life, Putin said: “He turned out to be a courageous man. He showed himself, in my opinion, in a very correct way: courageous, manly.”