'Pure fiction': Russia rubbishes claims of Putin and US-president elect Trump spoke on phone

The Kremlin on Monday refuted claims of a phone call between US President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, labeling it as “pure fiction.” Kremlin officials boldly stated, "Report on Putin-Trump call is untrue - there was no call. Putin has no specific plans to speak to Trump at the present."

The controversy stemmed from an initial report by The Washington Post, which stated that the call occurred last Thursday, and Trump allegedly spoke with Putin from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, mere days after his surprising victory over Democratic contender Kamala Harris in the recent US presidential election.

The Washington Post also reported that Trump, during the supposed conversation, urged the Russian leader to exercise restraint in Ukraine, reminding him of America’s significant military presence across Europe. Citing a source, the paper claimed that Trump hinted at his administration’s focus on curbing further escalations in Eastern Europe.

According to the report, Trump allegedly confided that he would endorse a settlement allowing Russia to retain certain territories it had claimed. The purported conversation was said to have briefly touched on this territorial matter.

The US daily noted that the Ukrainian government was informed about the call and it did not object to it as the Kyiv officials understood that Trump would discuss the matter with Putin.