Kremlin Denies Report of Trump-Putin Call, Says It’s ‘Pure Fiction’

A Trump spokesman wouldn't comment on the report

The Kremlin on Monday denied a report that Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with President-elect Donald Trump last week, calling it “pure fiction.”

The Washington Post reported on Sunday that Trump spoke with Putin on Thursday and advised the Russian leader not to escalate in Ukraine. “There was no conversation,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “This is completely untrue; it’s pure fiction.”

Peskov said the report was “the most remarkable example of the quality of the information that is published nowadays, sometimes even by quite respected outlets.”

When asked about the report, Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump, declined to comment. “We do not comment on private calls between President Trump and other world leaders,” he told BBC.

The Post report said that Ukraine was informed of the Trump-Putin phone call, but a Ukrainian official denied that was the case. “Reports that the Ukrainian side was informed in advance of the alleged call are false. Subsequently, Ukraine could not have endorsed or opposed the call,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi told Reuters.

Trump campaigned on ending the proxy war in Ukraine, and both he and Putin have signaled that they’re willing to talk with each other on the issue. The Post report said that in the alleged phone call, Trump advised Putin not to escalate in Ukraine and reminded the Russian leader of the US military presence in Europe. The report also claimed that Trump expressed interest in a follow-up call to discuss “the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon.”

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.