According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, any accusations of President Donald Trump campaign members are a US internal issue and don't concern Russia.
Moscow would prefer not to be involved in any way in the situation around the Trump team, Peskov has emphasized, adding that Moscow is, however, following the situation.
"We are following this ongoing process in the US, which is their [American] internal affair. From what we have read in the media and seen in the participants’ statements to the process, Russia does not appear in the charges that have been brought forward, other countries and people are appearing there. In any case, we would not want to be involved in these processes and hope that these processes won't contribute to escalating Russophobic hysteria," Peskov said.
He expressed hope that "wisdom will eventually prevail."
First Charges in Russia Probe
Peskov's statement comes less than a day after two former members of the Trump presidential campaign were indicted by the FBI. In particular, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort has been charged on 12 counts, including "conspiracy against the US" and money laundering and later placed under house arrest. Manafort, who worked as an advisor to Ukrainian former President, Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted during violent Maidan protests resulting in a coup in February 2014, has been accused of being engaged in a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign in the US on behalf of Kiev.
READ MORE: Manafort Indictment Unlikely to Hurt Trump Unless Mueller Uncovers Russia Ties
The White House and Trump have already commented on the issue, with the US president saying that Manafort was accused with regard to dealings he had made "years ago", prior to becoming part of his election team.
READ MORE: Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Points to Inaccuracy in Manafort Indictment
Trump has yet again reiterated that there was "no collusion" between his team and Russia, a claim also strongly denied by Russian officials with the Kremlin describing the allegations as "absurd." The Russian alleged interference described by the US president as a "witch hunt" is being separately investigated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the Senate.
