'Fiction' Kremlin dismisses reports of Putin call

The Kremlin has denied reports that Vladimir Putin spoke to the US president-elect, Donald Trump, calling the media reports "pure fiction".

- Pjotr Sauer

The Washington Post first reported that a call had taken place, citing unidentified sources, and said Trump had told the Russian president he should not escalate the Ukraine war. Reuters also reported on a call.

"It is completely untrue. It is pure fiction; it is simply false information," the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said when asked about the call. "There was no conversation."

"This is the most obvious example of the quality of the information that is being published now, sometimes even in fairly reputable publications."

Peskov added that Putin had no specific plans to speak to Trump.

According to the Washington Post, Trump reminded Putin of "Washington's sizable military presence in Europe". It added that Trump expressed interest in follow-up conversations on "the resolution of Ukraine's war soon".

The call reportedly took place after Putin on Thursday congratulated Trump on his election win and expressed admiration for the way Trump reacted to an assassination attempt during the campaign.