Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN's Fareed Zakaria in an interview aired Sunday that members of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign "probably" met with Russian officials during the run-up to the election, contradicting claims from Clinton's team that no such meetings took place.
Zakaria asked Peskov if Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the U.S., met with anyone from the Clinton campaign.
"Did he have similar meetings with Clinton campaign officials, because I don't know any?" Zakaria asked.
"Well, if you look at some people connected with Hillary Clinton during her campaign, you would probably see that he had lots of meetings of that kind," Peskov responded.
Peskov's comments came after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from any investigation involving the 2016 election following reports that he failed to disclose in his confirmation hearing that he met twice with Kislyak during the presidential campaign. Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned after it was discovered that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russian officials.
Robby Mook, Clinton's former campaign manager, has called for a "9/11-style" investigation into President Donald Trump's alleged ties to Russia. Clinton herself has blamed Russia for her loss, arguing Russian President Vladimir Putin has a personal grudge against her and ordered a cyber and disinformation campaign to undermine her candidacy.
Clinton campaign officials said that no one from the campaign met with Kislyak or any other Russian official, according to Foreign Policy.
Peskov, Putin's spokesman, appeared to counter that claim with his comments. He did not offer any evidence or specific examples when Russian officials met with the Clinton campaign, however.
Peskov stressed that it is standard practice for diplomats from Russia and other countries to meet with officials from both campaigns. He added that no discussion about the election or electoral process took place during those meetings.