A Kremlin spokesman has dismissed a U.S. intelligence report that claims Russian President Vladimir Putin personally ordered a hacking and disinformation campaign to help U.S. President-elect Donald Trump win the November U.S. presidential election.
Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told journalists on January 9 that the intelligence report contained "baseless allegations substantiated with nothing" and was "done on a rather amateurish, emotional level."
Peskov said, "We still strongly exclude any involvement of Moscow...or of Russian officials."
Peskov also said Moscow did not currently have any communications with Trump's transition team.
He said a meeting between Trump and Putin would have to be "planned carefully" because "these contacts will take place after a phase of deteriorating relations."
On January 6, the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence released unclassified portions of a report that concluded Putin "ordered" a campaign of hacking and media manipulation to help Trump win the presidency.
President Barack Obama has said evidence supporting that conclusion remains classified in order to protect ongoing U.S. intelligence operations into Russia's state-sponsored hacking campaigns against foreign countries.