Kremlin denies claims of Putin-Trump phone calls

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denied reports that Putin had telephone conversations with Donald Trump on seven occasions since Trump left office in January 2021.

His remarks were made in response to claims made in a forthcoming book by American journalist Bob Woodward, a member of the editorial board of The Washington Post, which is set to be released in the US on October 15, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

Commenting on the allegations, Peskov stated, "No, that is not the case."

Woodward's version suggests that Trump and Putin could have communicated up to seven times after the former US president's term ended.

However, Trump’s campaign communications director, Stephen Chung, effectively dismissed these claims, stating in a written statement, "None of these fabricated stories by Bob Woodward are true."

Jason Miller, a senior advisor to the former president, echoed this sentiment, saying, "I have not heard of them (Putin and Trump) talking. So I would contest [such claims]." Avril Haines, the Director of National Intelligence in the US, reportedly declined to clarify whether such calls took place.

In a comment to Bloomberg, Peskov confirmed that at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump sent testing equipment to Moscow.

"We also sent equipment [to the USA] to combat COVID at the start of the pandemic," the Russian president's press secretary was quoted as saying.

"But regarding the phone calls – that is not true," added the Kremlin representative.

By Aghakazim Guliyev