The Kremlin has confirmed that Donald Trump despatched Vladimir Putin Covid assessments once they have been scarce through the early levels of the pandemic, as reported this week in a e book by veteran US political journalist Bob Woodward.
The Russian president’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov largely confirmed the account of Woodward, whose e book reveals how Trump secretly despatched assessments to the Russian president for his private use, regardless of US shortages.
Peskov instructed journalists on Thursday that “all international locations tried to one way or the other alternate between themselves” through the early section of the pandemic, when there was not sufficient gear. “We despatched a provide of ventilator models to the US, they despatched these assessments to us,” he mentioned. The exchanges occurred “when the pandemic was beginning”, he mentioned, including that right now assessments have been “uncommon objects”.
In accordance with Woodward, the Russian president instructed Trump: “I don’t need you to inform anyone as a result of individuals will get mad at you.”
Woodward additionally reported that Trump and Putin might have spoken as much as seven instances on the telephone since 2021, together with after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Peskov, nonetheless, denied this account, saying the calls “didn’t occur”.
The main points about Trump’s ties to Putin are contained in a brand new e book by Woodward, the celebrated US reporter, who with Carl Bernstein uncovered the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of Richard Nixon as US president. Woodward has written and co-written three books concerning the Trump presidency. His newest work, Warfare, places the highlight on the Biden presidency, and covers Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Israel’s marketing campaign towards Hamas and US home politics.
Whereas the revelations of Trump’s connections to Putin shed new gentle on the previous US president’s marketing campaign to stress Republicans to dam navy support for Ukraine, it’s thought unlikely they’ll hurt his outstanding recognition along with his base, which has held agency regardless of quite a few scandals, prison and civil instances and his conviction for 34 felonies in a prison hush-money scheme to affect the results of the 2016 election.
Individually, the Kremlin spokesperson denied statements from the pinnacle of M15, Ken McCallum, that the GRU navy intelligence company was “on a sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets”. In a speech on Tuesday, McCallum mentioned intelligence companies had seen “arson, sabotage and extra”, an account that tallies with intelligence studies from throughout Europe.
The problem was raised by EU overseas affairs ministers in Might, with one minister saying then that they have been deeply anxious about “sabotage, bodily sabotage, organised, financed and achieved by Russian proxies”.
Responding to McCallum’s feedback, the Kremlin spokesperson mentioned the allegations weren’t worthy of consideration. “All these statements are completely unsubstantiated and unfounded,” he mentioned.
