New focus on ties to Russia
Russian government officials had contacts with members of Donald Trump’s campaign team, a senior Russian diplomat said yesterday, in a disclosure that could reopen scrutiny over the Kremlin’s role in the President- elect’s bitter race against Hillary Clinton.
Facing questions about his ties to Moscow because of statements interpreted as lauding Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump repeatedly denied having any contact with the Russian Government.
After the latest statement by the Russian diplomat, Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks denied that there were interactions between Russia and the Trump team before Wednesday’s election.
“The campaign had no contact with Russian officials,” she said in an email.
But Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said in an interview with the state- run Interfax news agency that “there were contacts” with the Trump team.
“Obviously, we know most of the people from his entourage,” Ryabkov said. “Those people have always been in the limelight in the United States and have occupied high- ranking positions. I cannot say that all of them but quite a few have been staying in touch with Russian representatives.
“We have just begun to consider ways of building dialogue with the future Donald Trump Administration and channels we will be using for those purposes,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying.
No further details were given on the claimed contacts, including names in the Trump campaign or other specifics.
Speaking to Bloomberg News, ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said staff of Russia’s embassy in the United States met with members of Trump’s campaign — meetings she described as “normal practice”.
Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign refused similar requests for meetings, she told the agency.
Asked later for clarification, a Foreign Ministry official declined to elaborate on Ryabkov’s remarks but said standard diplomacy called for “contact with the leaders in the campaign” on matters such as clarifying statements by the candidate or conveying interview requests from Russian journalists.
The ministry official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has yet to reveal whether she will run again, has already suffered a series of regional election defeats on the back of an open- door refugee policy denounced by Alternative for Germany and described as “insane” by Trump.
The Republican’s surprise victory might just tip her in favour of seeking a fourth term.