Russia dicey on Trump-Putin call, says will not comment or deny

The Kremlin on Sunday declined to confirm or deny a US report about a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The New York Post reported late Saturday that Trump told the publication he had spoken with Putin about ending the Ukraine conflict. The newspaper quoted Trump as saying Putin "wants to see people stop dying" but added that he "better not say" how often they had spoken.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in comments to TASS state news agency, said he could not confirm or deny the report, suggesting he was unaware of any such conversation.

"What can I say about this news item? As the administration in Washington expands its work, many different communications arise. And these communications are held through various channels," Peskov said.

"And of course, given these multiple communications, I personally can not know something, not be aware of something. Therefore in this case I can't either confirm or deny this."

The Kremlin has previously denied reports of Trump-Putin conversations before Trump’s return to the presidency. Moscow has said it is awaiting "signals" on a possible meeting between the two leaders and that no one in Trump's new administration has contacted them regarding such talks.