Moscow denies collecting compromising information about Trump
A spokesman for President Vladimir Putin has denied allegations that the Kremlin collected compromising information about US President-elect Donald Trump.
"This is an evident attempt to harm our bilateral ties," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow. "The Kremlin does not engage in collecting compromising information."
A US official said that intelligence officials had informed Mr Trump about an unsubstantiated report that Russia had compromising personal and financial information about him.
After news reports were published about the briefing, President-elect Trump tweeted: "Fake news - a total political witch hunt."
Mr Peskov dismissed the report, but commented that the allegations could be used to keep American politicians from wanting to improve ties with Russia.
"We should treat it with humour, but there is a sad side to it, too," he said. "There are people who are whipping up this frenzy, who are doing their best to keep this witch hunt going."
Mr Peskov described the report as part of efforts to "keep harming the relations, not allow anyone to think about whether this is in the interests of both countries, the interests of the global community and what can be done to move from a total confrontation to a more constructive approach".
Russian state television provided a muted coverage of the report, dismissing it as fake and pointing to its release timed to coincide with President Barack Obama's final speech in Chicago.
"The release would help Obama to slam the door even louder," Rossiya 24 television said on an afternoon news bulletin.
Noting that different sections of the report were written in different typefaces, "it does not look like it was compiled by professionals," Rossiya 24 added.
- AP
