A senior Russian banker who met President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, did not do so on the Kremlin's orders, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.
Kushner, who was quizzed on Monday by Senate investigators on his contacts with Russians as part of an investigation into possible Kremlin meddling in last year's presidential election, said he had met Sergei Gorkov, the head of Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, on December 13.
Russia flatly denies it interfered with the US election.
When asked about Kushner's meeting on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that Gorkov had been in the United States as part of a roadshow meeting various U.S. representatives in the course of his work.
"These contacts do no need any approval from the Kremlin and naturally (these meetings) did not happen on the Kremlin's orders," Peskov said.
He said it was "normal practice" for the head of a major Russian bank conducting a roadshow to hold various meetings.
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