Russia denies Trump-Putin call: ‘Pure fiction’

The Russian government, through spokesman Dmitrij Peskov, categorically denies reports of a telephone conversation between President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump, dismissing them as ‘complete nonsense’ and ‘pure fiction’. Peskov criticized the quality of information being published, even in reputable publications. Despite the Washington Post reporting details of a call in which Trump supposedly asked Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine, reminded of the US military presence in Europe, and suggested a follow-up to discuss a resolution to Ukraine’s war, Peskov asserts no such conversation occurred and there are no immediate plans for contact between the two leaders. The scrutiny over Trump’s approach to the Ukraine war is high, especially because of the US’s role as a major arms supplier to Ukraine and Trump’s claim of being able to quickly end the conflict.