World\Europe

Kremlin denies contacts with Russian lawyer who met Trump Jr.

Xinhua | Updated: 2017-07-13 10:32

MOSCOW - Moscow has had no contacts with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya who met US President Donald Trump's son last year, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

"The Kremlin has absolutely nothing to do with this meeting and has never been in contact with this lawyer," said Peskov at his daily news briefing.

Donald Trump Jr. on Tuesday released email records related to his meeting with Veselnitskaya in June 2016 during his father's presidential campaign, confirming previous US media reports of the meeting.

Veselnitskaya was said to be a "Russian government attorney," and her meeting with Trump Jr. has added fuel to suspicion in the United States that the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia during the election.

On Wednesday, Peskov said Veselnitskaya does not represent the interests of Russia and the government will not investigate her.

Peskov compared repeated media coverage of the alleged Trump-Russia collusion to "a long-running soap opera, which can compete with the most successful TV series aired in the United States."

"There is no sense drawing us into such a soap opera as we are not taking part or playing roles in it," said the Kremlin spokesman.

In an interview with U.S. media on Tuesday, Veselnitskaya denied any links with the Russian government and said she didn't have any damaging information on Hillary Clinton, Trump's presidential election rival.