Russian MP Calls Claims of Collusion Between Kislyak, Kushner 'Nonsense'

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Media reports about the alleged discussions between Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner about the possibility of establishing a communication channel between Trump’s team and the Kremlin cannot be taken seriously, Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the Russian lower house of parliament's international affairs committee, said Saturday.

Earlier in the day, The Washington Post reported citing alleged intercepts of Russian communications reviewed by US officials, that Kushner suggested to Kislyak using Russian diplomatic facilities to shield pre-inauguration talks from being monitored.

"I think that this is complete nonsense in line with the allegations against Kislyak, claims of Russian participation in Trump's election campaign, committing hacker attacks and other speculations," Slutsky said adding that these allegations were not worth discussing.

On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow is calling on the US media to stop spreading lies about Kislyak. She also said allegations of Russian meddling in US elections are part of a well-thought out "smear campaign" that has nothing to do with reality.

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