Flynn’s readiness to testify on Russia contacts evokes no Kremlin response

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. The intention by former US National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to testify before federal and congressional investigators in a probe into US President Donald Trump’s alleged contacts with Russia has caused no Kremlin response, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

"This [Flynn’s intention] has not caused any reaction," the Kremlin spokesman said.

The presidential spokesman recommended journalists to recollect a statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin made at an Arctic forum in Arkhangelsk on Thursday.

"The president already said yesterday to read the lips," the Kremlin spokesman has reminded.

The Russian president once again rejected on Thursday the allegations of Russia’s interference in the US presidential campaign. This time, the Russian president cited a former US president as saying: "Read my lips: No!"

Putin said again he was convinced that the anti-Russian rhetoric in Washington was related to the internal political struggle between Trump’s supporters and opponents in the US establishment.

Also on Thursday, Flynn’s lawyer Robert Kelner published a statement, saying that the former US national security adviser "has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit."

Kelner said that notwithstanding Flynn’s life of national service, "the media are awash with unfounded allegations, outrageous claims of treason."

Flynn’s service record

Flynn took up the post of the national security adviser to US President Trump in January this year but had to resign a month later on allegations that he had failed to inform US Vice-President Mike Pence fully enough on his contacts with Russian Ambassador in Washington Sergei Kislyak.

The Wall Street Journal reported in March that before his appointment as Trump’s national security adviser, Flynn had interacted with some Russian companies, receiving a total of over $50,000 from them. The newspaper also asserted in its article that in December 2015 the Russian international news TV Channel RT had allegedly paid Flynn about $34,000 for his participation in a conference organized by RT. As the newspaper reported, Flynn spoke at the conference on the US foreign policy and intelligence issues.

According to the newspaper, the contacts between Flynn and Russian companies were held in the summer and in the autumn of 2015, i.e. after he quit the post of the Defense Intelligence Agency director a year earlier. However, Flynn still had access at the time to top secret information, the newspaper’s article said.