The Kremlin on Monday rejected reports that President Vladimir Putin discussed with newly elected President Donald Trump last week the war in Ukraineand a Trump spokesperson declined to comment on what he called his “private conversations” with world leaders.

The Washington Post first reported on Sunday, citing anonymous sources, that the two spoke on Thursday, with Trump advising Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine and citing the significant US military presence in Europe.

In a conference call Monday with journalists, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said there was “no conversation” and that the report was “completely untrue, it is pure fiction.”

Asked about the report, Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung said: “We do not comment on private conversations between President Trump and other world leaders.”

Putin spoke Thursday at a foreign policy forum in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi congratulations offered to Trump election victory and praised him for what he said was “brave” behavior during an assassination attempt on him in July.

Peskov said there are “no specific plans yet” for a meeting between Putin and Trump. He previously said contacts between the two before Trump’s inauguration “are not out of the question” and pointed out that Trump had said he would call Putin before the inauguration. However, he denied that the Russian presidential administration or the State Department had any contacts with Trump’s campaign after the election.

During his campaign, Trump repeatedly said he could quickly end the fighting in Ukraine, but gave no details on how he would achieve that.

Russia has stepped up attacks civilian areas in Ukraine as the war approaches its thousand days. Ukraine, for its part, sent a huge wave of drones this weekend, throwing Moscow and its suburbs into turmoil.