The scandalous claims that several members of the United States government had contact with Russian officials during Donald Trump's election campaign has been described by Russia's foreign minister as a witch-hunt.
Sergey Lavrov was speaking at a press conference alongside his Salvadoran counterpart Hugo Martinez, who was on a visit to Moscow.
"I cannot not refer to a quote spread in the media today: all this looks very much like a witch-hunt. Or the days of McCarthyism, which we thought had long passed in the US," said the Russian statesman.
Lavrov was referring to the recent accusations that the US Attorney General Jeff Sessions had lied under oath when he said he "did not have communications with the Russians," during the Trump campaign.
Reports emerged that he had, indeed, held a meeting with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak two months before the US presidential elections.
Democrats have called for the Republican official to stand down, but President Trump defended him and also accused the Democrats of a witch-hunt.
"Jeff Sessions is an honest man. He did not say anything wrong. He could have stated his response more accurately, but it was clearly not intentional," said Trump on Twitter.
Lavrov said ambassadors were appointed to maintain bilateral relations and they did this by holding meetings and conversations with members of the Executive.
The accusations lodged against Sessions came a month on from similar claims against the former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who later stepped down.
Take your Radio, Podcasts and Music with you
