Moscow: Russia on Monday denied reports of a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump regarding the conflict in Ukraine, and said it did not see any indications that the West was ready for talks.
The Washington Post reported on Sunday that Trump spoke by phone on Thursday with Putin and asked him not to ignite the conflict.
Trump’s election to the White House would likely upend the nearly three-year-old conflict and cast doubt on Washington’s multibillion-dollar support for Kiev.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the report, telling reporters it was “false.”
“We do not comment on private calls between President Trump and other world leaders,” Stephen Cheung, Trump’s communications director, told AFP in a written statement.
A senior Ukrainian presidential official also said that Kiev “was not informed” of any call between Putin and Trump.
The Republican said during the election campaign that he could end the fighting within hours and indicated that he would speak directly with Putin. Trump did not say how he intends to reach a peace agreement on Ukraine or what conditions he proposes.
He spoke by phone with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday and they agreed to “work together for the return of peace in Europe,” according to Schulz’s spokesman.
But Peskov said there were “no preparations” for Putin to hold talks with Schulz, and it was too early to say whether Europe’s position on Ukraine had changed.
The Kremlin spokesman said: “We see some tension and various concerns among Europeans regarding the election of Mr. Trump as president of the United States.” Peskov said that Putin “reiterated last week that he is open to all talks,” but “no preparations are being made now.” “We have not received any signals.”
“If they say some signs will appear, we have to wait.” So far, “European leaders… continue to try to achieve a strategic defeat for Russia,” Peskov said, while Moscow continues “our own operation until we achieve all our goals.”
‘STARTING TO NEGOTIATE’ Ukraine has long been pressing the United States and Europe to allow it to launch long-range weapons deep into Russia.
Peskov stressed that “no type of weapon can change” the dynamic on the battlefield, as Russian forces are making rapid progress in the eastern Donetsk region.
“Now, when the situation in the fighting theater is no longer in Kiev’s favour, the West faces a choice,” Sergei Shoigu, a former defense minister and secretary general of Russia’s Security Council, said last week.
“Continue financing (Kiev) and destroying the Ukrainian population or recognize the current realities and start negotiating.” Weather alerts went off across Ukraine early Monday after Russian strikes killed at least six people, a day after record drone attacks by both sides.
This handout photo taken by the Ukrainian emergency service and published on November 11 shows a rescuer working at the site of the Russian night raid in Mykolaiv. – Agence France-Presse A Kremlin spokesman told state media on Sunday that “the signs are positive” after Trump’s victory, because “at least he is talking about peace, not about confrontation.”
The newspaper said in its report that Trump reminded Putin in the phone call of Washington’s large military foothold in Europe.
Several people who spoke to the American newspaper said that Trump expressed a desire to have more talks about “resolving the war in Ukraine soon” and briefly raised the issue of territory.
The Russian President called on Ukraine to withdraw from large areas of its eastern and southern territories as a precondition for peace talks.
After Trump’s election, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that no “concessions” should be made to Putin. Ukraine and many in the West fear that any settlement that rewarded Putin would embolden the Kremlin leader and lead to more aggression.