Kremlin Reveals There Are No Concrete Plans For Putin To Meet With Trump Yet, Describes Reports Of U.S. President-Elect Phone Call’s With Putin As ‘Pure Fiction’

The Kremlin on Monday denied reports that claimed the US President-elect Donald Trump has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin where the American leader reportedly urged Putin to not escalate the war in Ukraine.
The Washington Post reported earlier that Trump, in a call made on Thursday, warned Putin against escalating the conflict and reminded the Kremlin leader of “Washington’s sizeable military presence in Europe.”
According to several sources familiar with the phone call, Trump voiced an interest in follow-up conversations to discuss “the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon.”
Casting the media reports as “pure fiction”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin has no specific plans to speak to Trump at the present.
“This is completely untrue. This is pure fiction, it’s just false information. There was no conversation,” Peskov told reporters.
“This is the most obvious example of the quality of the information that is being published now, sometimes even in fairly reputable publications,” he added.
Asked if Putin had plans for any contacts with Trump, Peskov said: “There are no concrete plans yet.”
The Post, quoting several people familiar with the call who spoke on the basis of anonymity, reported that Trump reminded Putin of the US military’s sizeable presence in Europe. They said he also expressed an interest in further conversations to discuss “the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon”.
Reuters news agency also said the call took place, citing sources who were not authorised to reveal their identities to the media.
Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director, did not confirm the exchange, telling the AFP news agency in a written statement that “we do not comment on private calls between President Trump and other world leaders.”
Trump, who secured a historic second term in the White House last week, has pledged to end the war in Ukraine before taking the oath of office in January.
His criticism of outgoing President Joe Biden’s support for Ukraine has raised concerns in Kyiv that Washington might suspend arms deliveries, potentially weakening Ukraine’s defense against invading Russian forces.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that advisers to Trump have put forward several proposals that would effectively freeze the war, solidifying Moscow’s territorial gains in Ukraine.