Kremlin dismisses Trump collusion reports as ‘conspiracy’

The Kremlin has brushed off the most recent round of media reports suggesting that US President Donald Trump may have acted in the interests of Russia, describing the claims as a “conspiracy,” The Moscow Times reported on Tuesday.

Trump said on Monday he never worked for Russia, his first direct denial after a New York Times report that the FBI in 2017 investigated whether he acted against US interests. He also disputed a Washington Post report that he had concealed details about his meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and confiscated his interpreter's notes.

“This is a conspiracy that has no relation to reality,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Argumenty i Fakty tabloid in an interview published Tuesday.

Peskov also reiterated the argument that Trump is a victim of hostile forces in the United States. “America has found itself in a unique situation: there’s both a social and government divide,” Peskov said. “This results in difficult conditions which Trump has to work in.”

Trump's relations with Russia and Putin have clouded his presidency from the beginning and he has long dismissed the federal investigation into whether his 2016 campaign worked with Russia to sway the election as a hoax and a "witch hunt.”