The Kremlin has rejected claims from U.S. media suggesting that President Vladimir Putin and President-elect Donald Trump discussed the ongoing Ukraine conflict over the phone last week.
According to The Washington Post, Trump reportedly called Putin on Thursday, urging him to avoid escalating tensions in Ukraine and reminding him of the United States’ strong military presence in Europe. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov quickly dismissed this, calling it “simply false information” and asserting that no such conversation took place.
The article further mentioned that Trump expressed a desire for future discussions on ending the war in Ukraine. During his campaign, Trump had said he believed he could resolve the conflict within hours, implying he would be open to direct talks with Putin. However, he has not clarified how he would approach negotiations or the terms he might propose.
In contrast, Putin has demanded that Ukraine cede certain territories in the eastern and southern regions as a condition for peace discussions. The Post report indicated that Trump had briefly touched on this territorial issue during his alleged conversation with Putin.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky cautioned against making any concessions to Moscow, emphasizing that compromising could encourage further aggression from Russia.
