Reuters, MOSCOW
The Kremlin yesterday denied reports that US president-elect Donald Trump had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent days, and said Putin had no concrete plans yet to speak to Trump.
The Washington Post first reported that the call had taken place, citing unidentified sources, and said that Trump had told Putin that he should not escalate the Ukraine war. Reuters also reported on the call, citing an unidentified source.
“This is completely untrue. This is pure fiction, it’s just false information,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “There was no conversation.”
A handout photo from the National Police of Ukraine shows the site of a glide bomb attack on a residential area in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, yesterday.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“This is the most obvious example of the quality of the information that is being published now, sometimes even in fairly reputable publications,” he said.
Asked if Putin had plans for any contacts with Trump, he said: “There are no concrete plans yet.”
The two-and-a-half-year-old war in Ukraine is entering what some officials say could be its final — most dangerous — phase as Moscow’s forces advance at their fastest pace since the early weeks of the conflict and the West ponders how the war would end.
Trump said during his presidential campaign that he could bring peace in Ukraine within 24 hours if elected, but has given few details on how he would seek to end the biggest land war in Europe since World War II.
Putin on Thursday congratulated Trump, praised him for showing courage when a gunman tried to assassinate him, and said Moscow was ready for dialogue with him.
Russia has been signaling to the US and its allies for weeks that if they give permission to Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory with Western-supplied missiles, then Moscow would consider it a major escalation.
Putin on Sept. 12 said that Western approval for such a step would mean “the direct involvement of NATO countries, the United States and European countries in the war in Ukraine,” because NATO military infrastructure and personnel would have to be involved in the targeting and firing of the missiles.
Peskov was asked about reports that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron wanted to convince US President Joe Biden to allow Ukraine to fire Storm Shadow missiles deep into Russia.
“Nothing can be ruled out,” Peskov said, adding that European leaders still wanted to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.
“We, in turn, will continue the SMO [special military operation] until we achieve all our goals,” Peskov said. “The dynamic of the SMO is well understood by the military. They understand well what is happening. And it is probably important to note that no individual types of weapons are able to change this dynamic anymore.”
