A Russian spokesman said Thursday he is not aware of any meetings between U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, then a U.S. senator, and Russia's ambassador during last year's U.S. presidential campaign.
"I don't know about any meetings," Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked whether Sessions and Ambassador Sergei Kislyak met last year.
WATCH: Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Russian contact with Trump officials
Sessions is under intense scrutiny after a revelation he had spoken twice with Russia's U.S. envoy while he served as an adviser for Donald Trump's presidential campaign while serving in the U.S. Senate.
Sessions met Kislyak in July at an event on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention and again in September at his Capitol Hill office.
The meetings have fueled the controversy over allegations Russia may have improperly interfered in the presidential election in Trump's favor, and they have prompted some calls in Congress for Sessions to recuse himself from two congressional investigations into the allegations.
Sessions' office has said the meetings occurred in his capacity as a senator, not as a Trump campaign adviser.
Peskov said Thursday it was not unusual for Russian diplomats to meet with U.S. lawmakers.
"The fact is that the overall job of the ambassador is to hold as many meetings as possible" with representatives of the "host country."
Trump, who has repeatedly expressed a desire to strengthen relations with Russia, has accused former officials in former President Barack Obama's administration of trying to discredit him.
