Ex Russian Ambassador Denies Being a Spymaster
WARD: Former Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergei Kislyak, one of the men at the center of the Russian controversy, he is downplaying meetings with members of the Trump campaign. He hasn't granted an interview to anyone in the Western media until now. Our CNN's Matthew Chance just wrapped up an exclusive interview with Kislyak. He joins me now live. Matthew, what did he tell you?</s>MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we got a chance, Clarissa, to ask him some of those key questions that so many people in the Western media at least have been trying to ask him really since this whole scandal about the Trump administration, the Trump team's alleged connections with the Kremlin really first broke. This is a figure after the conversations with whom Michael Flynn, Trump's national security adviser, had to resign. Jeff Sessions, the attorney general of the United States, had to recuse himself from the investigations about Russia because of the conversations he had with Sergei Kislyak. So there's a load of questions about the nature of those conversations. Again, we traveled here, which is about 400 miles from the Russian capitol, to track him down and to put those questions to him. Take a listen.</s>CHANCE: Did you discuss lifting sanctions with any members of the Trump team when you were in the United States?</s>SERGEI KISLYAK, FORMER RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: With your respect, I'm here to talk to Russian people.</s>CHANCE: I understand that. You say you have no secrets.</s>KISLYAK: I have said everything I wanted prior to this.</s>CHANCE: Did you discuss opening secret channels with the Kremlin with Jared Kushner, for instance?</s>KISLYAK: I have said many times that we do not discuss the substance of our discussions with our American counterparts out of respect to our partners.</s>CHANCE: Fair enough. But when you met Donald Trump, the president, were you surprised when he disclosed secret information to you about Syria?</s>KISLYAK: I'm not sure that I heard anything that would be secret. But it was a good meeting. And we were discussing things that are very important to your country and to mine.</s>CHANCE: What about the allegation that you are a spymaster, a spy recruiter?</s>KISLYAK: Nonsense. Nonsense.</s>CHANCE: Did you attempt to recruit any members of the Trump administration?</s>KISLYAK: You should be ashamed because CNN is the company that keeps up pointing to this allegation. It's nonsense.</s>CHANCE: It was U.S. security officials, intelligence officials that made it.</s>KISLYAK: I heard that in the statements by them. Also by former head of the FBI who said it. I was a diplomat. I had no - no reason to doubt that he knew what he said.</s>CHANCE: Sergei Kislyak, a diplomat to the end, very much following the -- towing the Kremlin line on all of his responses to those questions. Those questions are not going to go away. There are multiple investigations in the United States to try and get more full answers to them -- Clarissa?</s>WARD: They're not going anywhere. Matthew Chance, fantastic reporting. Thank you so much. Just a few months ago, President Trump declared to the Middle East, we are not here to lecture. But now, the president put the brakes on millions of dollars in aid into Egypt. And we will be taking a look at his -- at Jared Kushner, his son-in-law's trip to Egypt where he has been snubbed. That's next.