A MEETING between Donald Trump's son-in-law and the chairman of a Russian bank did not occur on Kremlin orders, a spokesman for Vladimir Putin said.
The meeting in December between Jared Kushner, who is a senior adviser to the US president, and Vneshekonombank head Sergei Gorkov, was included in a statement by Mr Kushner to US Congress as part of the probe into Mr Trump's possible connections with Russia.
Mr Kushner said he had been asked to meet Mr Gorkov by Sergei Kislyak, then the Russian ambassador.
Vneshekonombank is a state-owned development bank.
The Russian president's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "These contacts do not require any authorisation from the Kremlin and they were not carried out on behalf of the Kremlin."
The denial came as Mr Kushner returned to Capitol Hill for a second day of private meetings with congressional investigators probing Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Mr Kushner, a senior White House adviser, is slated to have a closed-door meeting with the House Intelligence Committee.
On Monday he answered questions from staff on the Senate's intelligence panel.
He acknowledged four meetings with Russians during and after Mr Trump's victorious White House bid.
Mr Kushner, who is married to Mr Trump's daughter Ivanka, insisted that he did not collude with Russia and that "all of my actions were proper".
A quiet insider who generally avoids the spotlight, he is the first top Trump lieutenant to be quizzed by the congressional investigators probing Russia's interference in the election.
Mr Trump said his son-in-law "did very well yesterday in proving he did not collude with the Russians".
The US president also mocked the investigation, suggesting Congress might want to talk to his 11-year-old son next.
In a tweet, he again referred to the multiple Russia investigations as a "Witch Hunt".
And he said: "Next up, 11-year-old Barron Trump!"
Later Mr Trump's new communications director said it is "probably right" that the US president wants Jeff Sessions to resign after the attorney general recused himself from the Russia investigation.
Anthony Scaramucci said in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt that Mr Trump is "obviously frustrated" with Mr Sessions and that the two men "need to work this thing out".
When Mr Hewitt said it is clear that Mr Trump wants Mr Sessions gone, Mr Scaramucci replied: "You're probably right."
Officials said Mr Trump has spoken with advisers about sacking Mr Sessions. The president has also been pressuring Mr Sessions on Twitter in recent days.
The president recently told The New York Times he would not have picked Mr Sessions for the job had he known beforehand that the attorney general would step aside from the investigation.
