Kremlin denies Russia talked sanctions with Trump team

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) – The Kremlin denied Monday that Moscow and incoming Trump administration officials had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia last December.

"We do not want to make any comment on the internal discussions in Washington," spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russia's official TASS news agency.

U.S. intelligence agency transcripts from that time reportedly show Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's future national security adviser, discussing Obama administration sanctions over Russia’s alleged interference in the U.S. presidential election with Sergey Kislyak, Moscow’s ambassador to the U.S.

Revelations of the possibility of Flynn, then a private citizen, undermining the Obama sanctions as well as the specter of possible contacts between Trump’s team and Russians as Moscow was trying to influence the election have rocked Washington.

"We have already said that there have not been any [talks]," Peskov said when he was asked about talks between Russia and the U.S.

Commenting on a possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump, Peskov said the leaders will meet at the G20 summit in July, adding there was no "specific" information about the meeting.

Trump spoke with Putin on the phone on Jan. 28 for the first time since the former was elected last November. Putin said Friday that he would be open to having his first meeting with Trump in Slovenia.

Relations between Russia and America have also recently warmed, with Trump praising Putin in the runup to his inauguration last month.