MOSCOW, November 20. /TASS/. The US-Soviet Hotline, created for the Soviet and American leaders in the wake of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, is not being used at this point, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov has told TASS.

When asked whether this channel of communication remains active to date he replied: "No. We now have a special protected communication channel for the two presidents <…>. Moreover, [it] even [has the option of] the video conference format," he said.

Peskov added that there have been no contacts via this new channel lately.

According to the Kremlin’s official website, the latest phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart took place on February 12, 2022.

The Washington-Moscow hotline was created after the Cuban Missile Crisis for emergency talks between the leaders of the USSR and the United States. It began operating on August 30, 1963.

During the Cold War, the line was properly used for emergencies, but in recent years, the presidents of Russia and the United States communicated directly by phone when necessary. In 2016, the media reported that acting US President Barack Obama allegedly used the ‘red phone’ to discuss the situation with cyber interference in the US election. However, the Kremlin denied this, explaining that the conversation was held through a regular closed line.