Russian diplomat admits there were contacts with Trump’s campaign

Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said “there were contacts” with influential people in US President-elect Donald Trump’s circle.

A top Russian diplomat says Moscow had contacts with the campaign of Donald Trump ahead of his election as US President.

A journalist points at a portrait of US President-elect Donald Trump with a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a live telecast of the US presidential election in the Union Jack pub in Moscow on Wednesday. (AP)

Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as telling the Interfax news agency on Thursday that “there were contacts” with influential people in Trump’s circle. “I don’t say that all of them, but a whole array of them, supported contacts with Russian representatives.”

The report did not give further details.

Trump’s relations with Russia were one of the most contentious issues of the campaign, especially in light of his favourable remarks about President Vladimir Putin as a strong leader, and persistent contention by his opponents that Russia was responsible for hackers purloining emails from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign staff.