The Kremlin (Russia’s government) denied reports on Monday that US President-elect Donald Trump had spoken with Russian President Vladmir Putin recently. They also said that Putin had no plans to talk to Trump yet. The Washington post had first reported the phone call, quoting anonymous sources. According to that report, Trump told Putin not to make the situation in Ukraine worse. Later, the news agency Reuters also mentioned the call, citing an unnamed source.
”This is completely untrue. This is pure fiction, it’s just false information,” Kremlin spokesman Damitry Peskov told reporters. ”There was no conversation.” ”This is the most obvious example of the quality of the information that is being published now, sometimes even in fairly reputable publications,” Peskov said. Asked if Putin had plans for any contacts with Trump, Peskov said: ”There are no concrete plans yet.”
Earlier, media reports suggested that Trump advised Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminded him of the ‘significant U.S. military presence in Europe.”
During his election campaign, Trump had claimed he could end the war within a day though he didn’t provide details on how he would achieve that. Additionally, Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wodnesday, according to media reports.
On Friday,the Kremlin stated that Putin was open to discussing the situation in Ukraine with Trump, but this didn’t mean he was willing to change Moscow’s. In June 14, Putin outlined his conditions for ending the war: Ukraine would have to abandon its NATO aspirations and withdraw all its forces from the four regions in eastern Ukraine that Russia claims.
Ukraine has rejected these terms, calling them a form of surrender. In response, President Zelenskyy presented his own victory plan which includes calls for more military aid from western countries.
Shashi Rai
