MOSCOW, December 29. /TASS/. A probe into the alleged collusion between some US officials and Russian representatives is Washington’s domestic affair, and it is hurting relations between the two countries, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"We’ve repeatedly stated our position on the anti-Russian hysteria which the US is stoking, fueling and keeping heated up. We are still bewildered at the ongoing investigation. This is definitely a US domestic affair, but in this case it naturally hurts our bilateral relations, which is regrettable," Peskov noted.

He also commented on US President Donald Trump’s statement that the failure of the probe conducted by special counsel Robert Mueller over suspicions of possible collusion by Republican aides with Russian officials spoils the image of the US and so the investigation should not be dragged on.

The FBI is conducting a probe into Russia’s alleged ‘meddling’ in the 2016 US presidential election, along with the Select Committees on Intelligence of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the US Congress. In mid-May, the US Department of Justice appointed former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Robert Mueller as the special counsel for an isolated independent probe into a wide range of issues, including the Trump team’s possible collusion with Moscow for his election as US president.

The special counsel brought charges against former Trump campaign Chairman Paul Manafort and his longtime business partner Rick Gates. Mueller also reported that former Trump campaign foreign policy advisor, George Papadopoulos, pled guilty to giving false evidence to FBI officers. In early December, former National Security Adviser to US President Donald Trump Michael Flynn pled guilty in court to giving false evidence about his conversation with former Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak.