Kremlin denies report of Trump phone calls with Putin

MOSCOW — The Kremlin on Oct 9 denied reports by American journalist Bob Woodward that former US president Donald Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin as many as seven times after leaving office, the RBC daily reported.

When asked by RBC if Putin and Trump had spoken on the phone, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "No, that's not true."

In his book War, Woodward said Trump ordered an aide away from his office at his Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago in early 2024 so that he could conduct a private phone call with Putin, according to The Washington Post's summary of the book.

The Post said on Oct 9 that the book does not describe what the two men discussed, and it quotes a Trump campaign official casting doubt on the supposed contact.

The book also cited an unnamed Trump aide as indicating that Trump may have spoken to Putin as many as seven times since Trump left the White House in 2021.

Trump's campaign dismissed Woodward's book and said the book's content was "made up", the New York Times reported.

ALSO READ: Russia, Iran, China expected to use AI to try to influence US election, report says