Sergey Kislyak

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold talks with his Turkish counterpart in Russia on August 31 and September 1, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday. [Reuters]

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned Washington not to interfere in Russia's internal affairs.
"Official Moscow registers U.S. interference in the Duma elections, but it does not make a PR campaign out of it and does not engage in megaphone diplomacy," Zakharova said, TASS reports.

Russia has canceled the strategic talks scheduled for this month with the US after the US delegation withdrew at the last minute of a cyber security meeting, Russian ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said, cited by France Press. 

US President Donald Trump once again categorically denied that there was a secret agreement between his election headquarters and Moscow for the elections in May, the news agencies reported.

"There was absolutely no agreement ... no," he said at the White House.

The Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed the Deputy-minister of Foreign Affairs Anatoly Antonov as an ambassador in the United States, reported world agencies.

Antonov takes the place of Sergey Kislyak who was accused by American media that he conspired with representatives of the Trump election committee in order to ease his way to the White House, notes France Press.

Russia's ambassador to Washington Sergei Kislyak, a key figure in ongoing U.S. investigations into Moscow's meddling in the 2016 presidential election, ended his tenure on July 22.

The Russian embassy in Washington said on its Twitter feed that Minister-Counseler and Deputy Chief of Mission Denis V. Gonchar would serve as Charge d'Affaires until Kislyak's successor arrived.

Russia is reportedly recalling Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, the man who has emerged as a focal point in the FBI probe into Russia's election meddling, writes The Hill. The Kremlin did not confirm to the news outlet when Kislyak would head back to Russia, but the US-Russia Business Council on July 11 will have a going away party for Kislyak at the St. Regis Hotel, the report said.

Photo: kremlin.ru

Russian President Vladimir Putin has largely resorted to irony at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) as reporters seemingly failed to come up with new questions, focusing on Moscow's alleged meddling in the US elections, and Donald Trump.

Battled U.S. President Donald Trump faced explosive allegations that he divulged top secret intelligence to Russian diplomats in the Oval Office, a charge the White House scrambled to rebut on May 15.

Lt Gen (ret.) Michael Flynn, the US national security adviser has resigned over his contacts with Russia, according to an announcement of the White House.