Kremlin categorically denies reported phone call between Trump and Putin

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has categorically denied a claim made by The Washington Post on Sunday that Vladimir Putin and US president-elect Donald Trump spoke to each other by telephone on Thursday, just two days after the US presidential elections.

“This is the most vivid example of the quality of information now being published even in respected publications,” Peskov told state-affiliated news agency Interfax on Monday, adding, “It is completely untrue. It is pure fiction.”

In an apparent scoop on Sunday, The Post reported that the US president-elect and Putin held a phone call late last week, during which it said Trump warned Putin against escalating the war in Ukraine and reminded him of the significant numbers of US troops in Europe.

The two men also reportedly discussed a possible peace deal to end the war, with Trump signalling he was ready to support a deal that would see Russia retain some of the Ukrainian territory it currently occupies, The Washington Post reported.

A spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry told Reuters on Sunday that “reports that the Ukrainian side was informed in advance of the alleged call are false.”

During the US election campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office, citing his personal relations with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

As well as denying the phone call took place, Peskov also denied that there were plans for Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to speak by telephone, after Scholz said that Berlin and Moscow intended to reopen communication channels.