Russia is of the view that the US intelligence committee is "confused" over Kremlin's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential elections. Responding to the ongoing US Congress public hearing into the matter, a Kremlin spokesperson said that the participants were simply looking for ways to make the accusations a reality.

"The hearing participants are apparently confused about the situation. They are trying to find confirmation of their own assumptions somewhere but are failing to do that, to find any proof ... and just go around every time," Dmitry Peskov told reporters on 21 March.

He added that the investigations could affect ties between the two countries. "It is clear that [this hearing] could hardly be regarded as a constructive contribution to the issue of development of bilateral relations," he added.

US President Donald Trump's associates are being investigated for communicating with Russian officials during the presidential campaign, which could have a direct link to the hacking of Hillary Clinton's campaign accounts. Peskov described the Trump-Kremlin tied claims as "a permanent internal discussion in the US", and said that Moscow "would like to stay away from such futile discussions".

The president's spokesperson added that Russia had "already got tired of commenting on the same things for so long and does not see it as a necessary thing anymore".

On Monday, FBI Director James Comey confirmed that there was an ongoing counter-intelligence probe into links between Trump advisors and Russian officials. The statement earned him immediate criticism from Trump supporters, who claimed the director had a conflict of interest having been associated with the Clinton Foundation.

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FBI director James Comey (L) and National Security Agency director Mike Rogers take their seats at a House Intelligence Committee hearing into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US election, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on 20 March 2017 Reuters/Joshua Roberts