Pure fiction: The Kremlin claims that Putin and Trump have not spoken since the US elections.

The Kremlin has stated that Russian leader Vladimir Putin and the elected 47th president of the USA Donald Trump have not spoken since the elections in America. This was commented on by Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov in response to The Washington Post's report that Putin and Trump allegedly had a phone conversation on November 7.

Peskov denies that the politicians had any contact after November 5. He labeled the information from Western media as a fabrication, as quoted by the Russian news agency "Interfax".

"There was no conversation. This is the most vivid example of the quality of information that is currently being published, sometimes even in quite reputable publications. It is not true. This is pure fiction, just false information," said Russian President spokesman Dmitry Peskov at a briefing on November 11.

On November 10, The Washington Post reported that newly elected President Donald Trump had a phone conversation with Putin on November 7. According to WP, they discussed the war in Ukraine, with Trump allegedly asking Putin not to escalate hostilities. The Washington Post emphasized that the Ukrainian authorities were informed about this call from Putin to Trump and did not deny it. However, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated that they were not informed in advance about this conversation.

It is worth noting that experts believe that after Donald Trump's victory, Putin seems to have lost incentives to negotiate with the current US President Joe Biden and his team. However, the transition period in the White House creates many of its own risks: for example, the temptation for Putin to destroy what remains of Ukraine's energy infrastructure this winter, thereby creating more leverage for future negotiations. Addressing this threat requires quiet diplomacy with the Kremlin, which could involve both Biden's team and Trump's.

Putin speaks more frequently about ending the war, but on his terms

Russian leader Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on Donald Trump's victory in the US elections. According to him, the Kremlin chief does not plan to congratulate Trump yet. At the same time, he stated that ending the war in Ukraine "cannot be done overnight" – this was his reaction to the Republican's promises to end all wars.

Russia allegedly seeks to resolve the conflict with Ukraine and is reportedly ready to seek and make reasonable compromises. However, no exchange formats or negotiations with Kyiv are currently taking place. Moscow dictates that the outcome of any negotiations must be beneficial to Russia.

At the BRICS summit, the Russian leader claimed that he allegedly received a secret proposal for negotiations between the countries from Ukraine. Reportedly, this proposal was conveyed to the Russians by representatives of Turkey. The Kremlin leader asserted that he supposedly agreed to it immediately, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the peace proposal the very next day. Meanwhile, Putin added that Zelensky's victory plan allegedly undermines all paths leading to peace.

It should be noted that the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggests that Putin sees Trump as an opportunity for a "reset" in relations with the USA according to the Kremlin's scenario. At the same time, according to Senator Marco Rubio (who is one of the unofficial candidates for the position of US Secretary of State under the 47th president), Trump is an advocate for ending the war, but that does not mean he is a "fan of Putin."