Putin, Trump have ways to get in contact with each other, Kremlin says
Trump said in an interview with NBC on November 8 that he had not yet spoken to the Russian president after his election win, but allowed for such a possibility
MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. There are communication channels that Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump could use to get in touch with each other if they want, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS.
He was responding to a question about how the politicians could talk, given that Trump doesn’t have access to the government’s secure communication channels before his inauguration.
"There are aides. Mechanisms for dialogue are in place and if there is political will, they can be easily and promptly employed," Peskov said.
Political will
Trump said in an interview with NBC on November 8 that he had not yet spoken to the Russian president after his election win, but allowed for such a possibility. Putin, while on the podium of a Valdai discussion club meeting, congratulated Trump on his election victory and said it wouldn’t be a "shame" for the Russian side to initiate a phone call.
Afterward, Western news media reported that the two politicians had allegedly already spoken by phone. A Kremlin spokesman denied such allegations reported by the Washington Post and Reuters. Peskov said it was "the most vivid example of the quality of the information that is now being published, sometimes even by quite respected news organization."
Past contacts
According to the Kremlin's website, Putin and Trump last spoke by phone in July 2020 as Trump was moving toward the end of his first presidential term. On their agenda were various international issues, including strategic stability. There were other contacts in the months that followed: Putin and his US and French counterparts issued a joint statement on Nagorno-Karabakh, and the Russian president also sent a telegram to Trump to wish him a speedy recovery from Covid. Furthermore, the Russian president congratulated Trump and Biden on Christmas and the New Year ahead of 2021.
The politicians have also held several in-person meetings. In July 2018, Helsinki hosted a Russia-US summit, where the leaders talked one-on-one and when joined by official delegations.