The Kremlin has dismissed allegations that Russia was behind a hack of the Democratic National Committee's e-mails as absurd.
"This absurd news was immediately refuted by the family of the well-known presidential candidate," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on July 26 , referring to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
Peskov also mocked references to Russia in the U.S. presidential campaign.
"We are still seeing attempts to obsessively use the topic of Russia during the U.S. electoral campaign," he said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said earlier that he raised the issue of the hacking of Democratic Party e-mails in a July 26 meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Lavrov brushed aside allegations from U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign that Russia was behind the embarrassing leak of Democratic Party e-mails.
Clinton aides have charged that Russia was behind the leak, which outraged Sanders supporters on the eve of the Democratic convention because the Kremlin favors her Republican rival, Donald Trump, who has talked glowingly of improving relations with Russia if he were to become president.
Lavrov suggested a proper response to that allegation would involve using vulgar language.
He replied in English: "Well, I don't want to use four-letter words." Trump on July 25 called the charge "one of the weirdest conspiracy theories" he's heard.