The American ex-president Donald Trump is claimed in a book to have had up to seven private phone calls with Russia's president Vladimir Putin after his time in the White House.
In an interview with Bloomberg's editor-in-chief John Micklethwait, Trump refuses to answer whether the information is true.
I don't comment on that, says Trump.
But I can say that if I did it, it would be a smart thing. If I'm friendly towards people, if I can have a relationship with people, it's a good thing and not a bad thing for a country.
In the book "War" by journalist Bob Woodward, it emerges that Trump, among other things, is said to have spoken with Putin over the phone at the beginning of 2024. An unnamed employee of the ex-president claims that Trump and Putin repeatedly talked to each other, without further describing the content of the conversations.
The book also reveals that Trump secretly sent covid-19 test equipment to Putin, which the Kremlin later confirmed.
