In an unusual move, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday no such call had taken place between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
Reports that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump had recently spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin were rejected by the Kremlin on Monday as “pure fiction.”
Trump, who has expressed disapproval of the extent of U.S. military and financial assistance for Kyiv and promised to bring the war to a swift conclusion, has spoken with Putin in recent days, a source told Reuters on Sunday.
The Washington Post, citing unnamed sources, claimed that Trump had advised Putin that he shouldn’t intensify the war in Ukraine. The source informed Reuters that they were aware of the call.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov made the unprecedented claim on Monday that Putin and Trump had not had such a call.
This is not accurate at all. He told reporters, “This is just false information, pure fiction.” “There was no dialogue.”
According to him, “This is the clearest illustration of the caliber of the information that is currently being published, sometimes even in fairly reputable publications.”
When asked if Putin had any intentions to speak with Trump, Peskov responded, “At this time, there are no specific plans.”
Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director, responded to a question regarding the alleged Trump-Putin call by saying: We do not comment on private talks between President Trump and other foreign leaders.
Trump, a Republican, will become president on January 20 after winning the election on November 5. The White House said on Wednesday that Biden had invited Trump to the Oval Office.
Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser for the United States, stated on Sunday that Biden’s main message will be his pledge to guarantee a peaceful handover of power. He would also discuss current events in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East with Trump.
“Over the next 70 days, President Biden will have the chance to convince Congress and the incoming administration that the United States should not abandon Ukraine, that doing so would lead to further instability in Europe,” Sullivan said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” program.
Biden would push Congress to enact legislation authorizing additional cash for Ukraine, Sullivan was asked.
“I’m not here to propose any particular piece of legislation. “After his term ends, President Biden will argue that we do require continued resources for Ukraine,” he said.
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Funding for Ukraine
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Washington has given tens of billions of dollars in economic and military assistance to the country, which Trump has frequently denounced and gathered opposition to with other Republican senators.
Trump claimed last year that Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if he had been president at the time. He told Reuters that in order to establish a peace deal, Ukraine could have to give up territory, something Biden has never proposed and Kyiv rejects.
Zelenskiy stated on Thursday that he was certain that a speedy conclusion to the war would require significant concessions from Kyiv, but he was unaware of any specifics of Trump’s plan.
The Government Accountability Office claims that under Biden, Congress appropriated more than $174 billion for Ukraine. With Republicans expected to gain a 52-seat majority in the U.S. Senate under Trump, the pace of help is practically guaranteed to slow.
With some ballots still to be counted, it is unclear who will control the U.S. House of Representatives in the upcoming Congress. According to Edison Research, Republicans have secured 213 seats, which is barely short of the 218 seats required for a majority. The majority of Trump’s plan will have a much easier time getting through Congress if Republicans win both chambers.
In a CBS interview, Republican U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty, a Trump supporter and a leading candidate for secretary of state, blasted U.S. financing for Ukraine.
“Before we invest our money and resources in defending the sovereignty of another country, the American people want sovereignty protected here in America,” Hagerty stated.
(Humeyra Pamuk, Brendan O’Brien, and Moscow Buro reported; Moira Warburton contributed additional reporting; Bill Berkrot, Diane Craft, Timothy Heritage, and Jon Boyle edited.)