On Friday, the spokeswoman wrote on her Facebook page that earlier that day she had run into the US ambassador at the Foreign Ministry lobby, and humorously let Tefft know that he was acting in a careless fashion by not halting all contact with Russian diplomats, officials, and politicians.
"You're putting yourself in danger," she joked with Tefft, adding, "What if CNN finds out?"
On March 3, Tefft met with Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, to discuss issues of bilateral relations, according to the Foreign Ministry press service.
Speaking at a news briefing Thursday, Zakharova condemned the reports as misleading public opinion, in the US and in the world, and calling it "media vandalism."
"Is it the rock bottom, which the Western media hit," she asked, "or is there still somewhere to go?"
"I will reveal a military secret: diplomats are working, and their work consists of making contacts in the host nation."
In February, US National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned, amid media questioning of his concealing alleged ties to Kislyak, with whom he was reported to have discussed sanctions against Russia, a claim that Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov later denied.