Kremlin says can't 'confirm or deny' Trump-Putin call

Russia on Sunday declined to confirm or deny a US report of a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, claiming it had not received a good offer to start talks on Ukraine.

The New York Post reported on Saturday that Trump told the publication he had spoken on the phone with Putin to discuss bringing an end to the conflict in Ukraine and the Russian president told him he "wants to see people stop dying".

It was not immediately clear when the leaders spoke, or if they had spoken since Trump took office last month, and how many times as the newspaper quoted Trump as saying he had "better not say" how often the leaders have spoken.

In his exclusive interview, Trump expressed hope that Putin's special military operation in Ukraine would end "fast". He had previously vowed to end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to state news agency TASS that he could not confirm or deny a conversation took place, but suggested he was unaware of any such call.

"As the administration in Washington expands its work, many different communications arise. And these communications are held through various channels," Peskov said.

"And of course, given these multiple communications, I personally may not know something, not be aware of something. Therefore, in this case, I can't either confirm or deny this."

Peskov had previously denied reports of conversations between Trump and Putin before the former's return to the presidency, but told The New York Times on Wednesday that Russia "remains open to negotiations".

The last time Russia was directly involved in peace talks to end the conflict was in 2022, but they fell apart over key disagreements. The Kremlin has said it is awaiting "signals" on a possible meeting between Trump and Putin and that no one in Trump's new administration has been in touch about setting one up.

Russian state news agency RIA quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin as saying Moscow is yet to receive a good offer to start talks on Ukraine.

In an interview with Britain's ITV on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his willingness to engage in talks with Russia to end the crisis, provided Kyiv's Western allies — the US and the European Union — were involved.

renqi@chinadaily.com.cn