Peskov denies rumors of Putin-Trump phone call

Foreign press reports about an alleged phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump are false; such a conversation never took place. This was stated at a briefing by Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov.

"There was no conversation," the Kremlin spokesman said. "This is completely untrue, it is pure fiction."

Peskov described the publications of The Washington Post and Reuters, which reported on the alleged conversation, as "the most obvious example of the quality of the information that is now being published, sometimes even in fairly respected publications." According to the American press, Putin and Trump allegedly discussed the situation in Ukraine and peace on the European continent.

The last phone call between Putin and Trump, reported on the Kremlin website, took place in July 2020 (Trump was finishing his first presidential term in those months). The agenda included various international issues, including strategic stability. There were other contacts in the following months - Putin issued a joint statement on Nagorno-Karabakh with his US and French colleagues, and also sent Trump a telegram wishing him a speedy recovery from COVID.

In addition, the Russian president congratulated Trump and Biden on the upcoming 2021 and Christmas. In the past couple of years, Putin has not sent such congratulations to Western leaders, including the American president. Putin and Trump have repeatedly held high-level meetings. In particular, in July 2018, the Russia-US summit was held in Helsinki, during which the leaders talked both tete-a-tete and with the participation of delegations.

Putin's last telephone conversation with the US leader took place on February 12, 2022. He and Joe Biden talked for more than an hour, the main topics were security guarantees for Russia and the situation around Ukraine. They also discussed bilateral relations between Moscow and Washington.

This summer, Putin also mentioned that Biden sent him a letter regarding Ukraine. The Russian president responded in writing that in order to stop the hostilities, Washington must stop supplying weapons to Kiev, and the conflict will end "within two, maximum three months."