Russia has declined to confirm or deny the report of a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The US and Russia have not officially confirmed any communication between the leaders since Mr Trump took office on a pledge to swiftly end the Ukraine fighting.
The New York Post reported last night that Mr Trump told the publication he had spoken on the phone to Mr Putin to discuss bringing an end to the conflict in Ukraine and the Russian told him he "wants to see people stop dying".
The newspaper quoted Mr Trump as saying he had "better not say" how often the leaders have spoken.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov in comments to TASS state news agency said he could not confirm or deny a conversation took place, but suggested he was unaware of any such call.
"What can I say about this news item? As the administration in Washington expands its work, many different communications arise. And these communications are held through various channels," the spokesman said.
"And of course, given these multiple communications, I personally can not know something, not be aware of something. Therefore in this case I can't either confirm or deny this."
Mr Peskov previously several times denied reports of conversations between Mr Trump and Mr Putin before the US leader's return to the presidency.
Russia has said it is awaiting "signals" on a possible meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin and that no-one in Mr Trump's new administration has been in touch about setting one up.
Donald Trump said he has spoken to Mr Putin by phone about ending the war in Ukraine, according to the New York Post.
It would be the first known direct conversation between Mr Putin and a US president since early 2022.
Mr Trump, who has promised to end the war in Ukraine but not yet set out in public how he would do so, said last week that the war was a bloodbath and that his team had had "some very good talks".
In an interview aboard Air Force One on Friday, Mr Trump told the New York Post that he had "better not say," when asked how many times he and Mr Putin had spoken.
"He (Putin) wants to see people stop dying," Mr Trump told the New York Post.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours.
