Donald Trump appears to be violating protocol with alleged Putin call

A call The Washington Post The conversation in question between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin may be the latest diplomatically unconventional conversation that has taken place between the two, although the Kremlin denied on Monday that they had spoken.

Trump said he has spoken to about 70 world leaders since his election victory, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, where Elon Musk was also present.

Citing “several people familiar with the matter,” the said post reported Sunday that among the other world leaders he spoke with, he also spoke with the Russian president, in the first phone conversation between the two since the Republican’s election victory. It said Trump had urged Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminded him of Washington’s military presence in Europe.

However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that there had been “no conversation” between the two, according to state media outlet Tass, adding: “This is completely untrue, this is pure fiction.”

Newsweek has contacted The Washington Post and the Trump team for comment. Newsweek has not independently verified the outlet’s reporting.

The post said Trump’s first talks with world leaders since his election victory would not be conducted with the assistance of the State Department and U.S. government interpreters because Trump’s transition team has not yet signed an agreement with the General Services Administration.

The details in the postThe report on Trump’s alleged conversation with Putin highlights the latest unusual diplomatic protocol step between the politicians.

In November 2019, Trump held a meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires without an interpreter or an adviser from his government present, the newspaper said Financial Times.

Trump and his wife Melania Trump had no staff, while Putin was flanked by his translator FT reported. According to the newspaper, Trump’s advisers described the meeting as one of several “informal” conversations that the then US president had with counterparts.

At the time, the White House confirmed there had been a brief meeting, and a Russian official said the leaders discussed foreign policy issues.

The latest book from renowned journalist Bob Woodward, Warsaid the pair continued to interact even after the Republican left office and have had seven conversations since 2021. The Trump team dismissed Woodward’s reports as “made up stories.”

However, Tass reported that the last conversation between the two reported on the Kremlin website took place in July 2020.

The alleged latest conversation between Trump and Putin comes amid speculation about how the Republican will approach the war in Ukraine, given his disdain for continued American military support for Kiev and repeated insistence that he will support the war started by the Russian president within 24 years can finish hours.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that a Trump team plan to end hostilities calls for a buffer zone, freezing the conflict, allowing Russia to retain territory it currently holds and delaying Ukraine’s NATO membership for two decades. No American troops would be involved in the buffer zone, the publication said, citing unnamed sources.