The Russian government connected with members of President-elect Donald Trump's campaign team as part of routine outreach during the general election, one of Moscow's top diplomat's told Interfax news agency on Thursday.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the Russian embassy in the U.S. had "sufficient, responsible" discussions with the Trump campaign, while "sporadic" contact with Hillary Clinton's camp was "not always productive," Bloomberg reported. Ryabkov said talks with both presidential candidates were "part of routine everyday work."
Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said she was "not aware" of any meetings between campaign staff and Russian diplomats.
Trump has said he would consider meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin before his inauguration in January. The business mogul has repeatedly spoken about his desire to smooth relations between the Cold War enemies.
Clinton accused Trump of being Putin's "puppet" in October amid allegations that Russia had launched cyber attacks against Democratic computer networks in an effort to help Trump win the White House.
While Clinton's claims remain unsubstantiated, the Obama administration last month did formally accuse Russia of hacking into U.S. political networks to undermine the nation's election.