Moscow has dismissed the recent claims that President-elect Donald Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin last week to discuss the Ukraine conflict as “completely false”. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated on Monday that “there has been no phone call whatsoever between the Russian President and his US counterpart”.
The denial follows a report by The Washington Post, which alleged that Trump, speaking from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, had contacted Putin last Thursday. The publication, citing anonymous sources, claimed that Trump had reminded Putin of the US’s significant military presence in Europe and expressed an interest in holding further talks about the Ukraine crisis. Moscow has since flagged the report as “fake news”.
The backdrop to this report comes amid heightened speculation around Trump’s stance on Ukraine following his recent presidential election victory. In his victory speech, Trump emphasized, “I will not start wars, I will help end them,” signaling a potential shift in US foreign policy.
Last Wednesday, Trump did make a confirmed call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The conversation, reportedly attended by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, took place at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. Zelensky later posted on X, expressing his optimism and congratulating Trump on his “historic landslide victory”. Reports indicate that during the call, Trump handed the phone to Musk, who joined the conversation, though it remains unclear if any substantive policy discussions took place.
The Trump-Putin phone call claim, now officially denied by Moscow, had sparked international curiosity amid ongoing war and geopolitical shifts. For now, both Trump and Putin remain silent on the matter as questions linger regarding US foreign policy changes under Trump’s new administration.