Did Trump and Putin Discuss Ukraine? Kremlin Calls Report ‘False’

On Monday the Kremlin denied that Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump discussed the Ukraine conflict over the phone last week. According to The Washington Post Trump allegedly called Putin on Thursday and cautioned him against escalating the situation in Ukraine.

However Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refuted this report. He said “simply false information” and stated that no such call took place.

The Washington Post article claimed Trump reminded Putin of the U.S. military presence in Europe and expressed a desire for more discussions to help resolve the Ukraine conflict quickly. During his campaign, Trump mentioned he believed he could end the fighting in Ukraine swiftly although he has not outlined his exact approach or terms for a potential peace agreement.

Putin has previously set demands for Ukraine including a withdrawal from parts of eastern and southern Ukraine as a basis for peace talks. The Washington Post also reported that Trump briefly brought up the topic of territory in his conversation with Putin though details are unclear.

After the election of the new President of America, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged against making any concessions to Russia warning that yielding land or meeting Moscow’s demands could encourage further aggression from the Kremlin.