Russia reacts to claim Trump made secret calls to Putin after leaving WH, sent him personal gifts: ‘Typical bogus story’

Russia has reacted to reports about a special bond between Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and Republican presidential contender Donald Trump.

Excerpts from journalist Bob Woodward’s upcoming book War, which covers the Watergate scandal, surfaced on Tuesday. The book accused Trump of offering Putin a “bunch of Abbott Point of Care COVID test machines for his personal use” during the height of the pandemic. It further claims Trump held at least seven “private” calls with the Russian President after the White House exit.

Putin’s team is now stating Woodward’s account is partially true.

Acknowledging that Russia had indeed accepted COVID tests from Trump, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Bloomberg, “We also sent equipment at the beginning of the pandemic.” He, however, added that claims about the phone calls are “not true”.

In an interview with the New York Times, Peskov described that aspect of Woodward’s reporting as “a typical bogus story in the context of the pre-election political campaign”. In Woodward’s account of events, Putin begged Trump to keep this a secret from others, warning him that “people will get mad at you, not me. They don’t care about me.”