Trump team reacts to report about alleged conversation with Putin

President-elect Trump’s transition team would neither confirm nor deny that the 2024 election winner told Russian President Vladimir Putin not to escalate the war with Ukraine in a phone call last week.

The Washington Post reported that Putin and Trump spoke on Thursday. It was the first conversation between the two heads of state since Trump returned to the Oval Office last Tuesday.

Trump reportedly took the call from Florida and advised Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine. The president-elect also reminded the Russian president of the amount of U.S. military in Europe, a person familiar with the call who spoke on condition of anonymity told the publication.

Additionally, the two men spoke of peace being the goal in Europe, while Trump also expressed a desire for further talks on “the early resolution of the Ukraine war,” multiple sources told the Post.

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When contacted by Fox News for comment on the report, Trump’s team released the following statement:

“We do not comment on private conversations between President Trump and other world leaders,” Trump communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement. “President Trump decisively won a historic election, and world leaders know that America will regain prominence on the world stage. That’s why leaders have begun to build stronger ties with the 45th and 47th presidents because he represents global peace and stability.”

The statement comes just two days after a senior Ukrainian official confirmed to Fox News that billionaire Elon Musk participated in a phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday.

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President-elect Donald Trump arrives to speak during an election night rally in West Palm Beach, Florida, on November 6, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Musk’s unexpected appearance during the first official conversation between Trump and Zelensky may indicate the SpaceX CEO’s influence on the new Trump administration.

“I had an excellent phone call with President Trump congratulating him on his historic landslide victory – his great campaign made this result possible,” Zelensky posted on X.

Details of Musk’s exact role were not disclosed, according to a report by Axios, although sources said Musk expressed his intention to continue supporting Ukraine through its Starlink satellite network, a service critical to Ukraine’s wartime communications is.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Christoph Soeder/Pool via AP/File)

Throughout his entire election campaign Trump expressed skepticism about continuing U.S. aid to Ukraine and emphasized a quick resolution to the conflict with Russia, sparking concern across Europe.