The Kremlin has addressed claims Donald Trump sent COVID testing machines to Vladimir Putin during the pandemic.
The former US president sent the machines to the Russian leader for “his personal use” as the virus began to spread in 2020, the veteran US journalist Bob Woodward claims in his book War, according to US media.
In the book, it was claimed Mr Putin told Mr Trump not to tell anyone else because people would be angry, but he said he didn’t care if anyone knew. The book said Mr Trump eventually agreed not to tell anyone.
He also quoted an unnamed aide to Mr Trump as saying he and Mr Putin may have spoken as many as seven times since Mr Trump left the White House in 2021.
Asked about the claims, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “As for the calls, that’s a lie.
“There were no calls, and they did not hold phone calls after Trump ceased to be president.”
But he added: “As for the tests, when the pandemic began, countries did not have enough equipment.
“And many countries then exchanged such gestures of support and sent each other shipments of various equipment they had.”
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Previous reports said Mr Trump’s administration sent ventilators and other equipment to Russia and also received medical equipment.
“We sent a batch of artificial respiration devices, and several test devices came from America,” Mr Peskov said.
“The first testers worked very poorly.”
He added: “It was a common practice at that time to exchange such support.”
Speaking to CBS, Mr Woodward said the tests were precious assets at a time when COVID was “running wild” worldwide.
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Trump campaign dismisses claims
Mr Trump’s campaign has dismissed the claims in Mr Woodward’s book, saying: “None of these made-up stories by Bob Woodward are true.”
Asked why tests were sent to Russia during the pandemic, Vice President Kamala Harris told the Howard Stern show: “Everybody was scrambling to get these kits, these COVID test kits, and this guy, who’s president of the United States, is sending them to Russia, this murderous dictator, for his personal use?”
Joe Biden’s administration would have serious concerns if the reports Mr Trump spoke with Mr Putin were accurate, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said.
She said she could not confirm whether the calls took place.
