Kremlin tight-lipped on claims of Putin-Trump contacts
The Kremlin cannot confirm whether a direct phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump has taken place, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. He noted, however, that Moscow and Washington maintain dialogue through various diplomatic channels.
On Saturday, the New York Post released an interview with Trump, in which the US leader claimed that he had had a phone conversation with Putin. However, the publication didn’t provide any quotes from the alleged call, and Trump refused to answer how many times he has been in contact with Putin.
Trump reportedly claimed that the Russian president “wants to see people stop dying.” He added that he had a concrete plan for ending the hostilities, also without providing details.
Commenting on the NY Post report, Peskov would neither confirm nor deny the phone call. “As the administration in Washington expands its work, there are many different communications. These communications are carried out on different channels. And of course, against the background of the multiplicity of these communications, it is possible that I personally may not be aware of something. So in this case, I can neither confirm nor deny,” he said.
Trump, who has repeatedly vowed to quickly end the Ukraine conflict, has said he is willing to meet with Putin. The Russian president signaled that he is open to potential talks, recalling that he had maintained “pragmatic” relations with his US counterpart during his first term.
While Trump has yet to publicly announce the specifics of his Ukraine peace plan, it reportedly includes the freezing of the conflict along the current front lines, establishing a demilitarized zone patrolled by European soldiers, and suspending Ukraine from joining NATO.
Russia has ruled out the freezing of the conflict while insisting that a sustainable peace deal must result in Kiev committing to permanent neutrality, demilitarization and denazification while acknowledging the territorial realities on the ground.
