The Kremlin has said that communication between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump could take place before the U.S. president-elect's inauguration.
Trump has frequently touted his good relationship with the Russian president, and their ties were scrutinized during the Republican's previous White House term.
The latest book by the journalist Bob Woodward, War, says Trump and Putin continued to interact after the president left office. They have had seven conversations since 2021, with the Republican even asking one aide to leave the room so they could speak. The Trump team rejected Woodward's accounts as "made-up stories."
But with anticipation over the fate of what a Trump presidency will mean for U.S. aid for Ukraine, which the Republican has criticized, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggested that there could be contact before January 20, 2025, when he assumes the Oval Office.
"Putin's communication with Trump before the inauguration is not ruled out. The Kremlin proceeds from the statements of the U.S. president-elect," Peskov said, according to Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti.
Newsweek reached out to the Trump team for comment.
On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia has "never refused to speak with anyone" and that "talking is always better than isolating ourselves from each other."
It comes amid what looks like a cautious welcome of Trump's reelection by Russian officials, with Peskov saying on Wednesday that he did not know when Putin would formally congratulate Trump, given that he leads a "hostile country."
Putin has only unofficially congratulated Trump through acquaintances, according to the independent Russian media outlet Verstka.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was among the first of Putin's circle to comment, saying on Telegram that a Trump presidency would be "useful" for Russia given his reluctance to foot the bill for Ukrainian aid."
However, Medvedev, the deputy chair of Russia's Security Council, added that while Trump is "stubborn...the system is stronger."
Trump has repeatedly said he could end the Russia-Ukraine war within a day, suggesting his relationship with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could lead to a deal.
"Putin will be happy but wary about the Trump victory," Brian Taylor, a political science professor at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs, told Newsweek.
"Putin knows that Trump has never said a bad word about him and wants to do a deal with him, including on Ukraine," he said, "but Putin will also be wary because Trump is unpredictable and U.S.-Russian relations did not improve during the first Trump presidency."
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