Everything I have done is 100% proper: Donald Trump on Russia probe

US President Donald Trump asserted on Saturday that everything he has done is 100 per cent "proper" and there has been no collusion between between him and Russia in the 2016 presidential elections.

Trump told reporters that a new report in The New York Times that he directed the White House Counsel to lobby Attorney General Jess Sessions not to rescue himself from the Russian investigation was way off.

"Everything I have done is 100 per cent proper. That is what I do, is I do things proper," Trump told reporters at a press conference in the Camp David, a picturesque presidential retreat of Maryland, where he is holding meetings with his Republican leaders in the Congress.

"Everything that I've done was 100 percent proper. The story, by the way, in The Times was way off, or at least off," Trump said in response to a question.

Trump reiterated that there has been no collusion between him, his campaign and the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections.

"I guess the collusion now is dead. There's been no collusion between us and the Russians. Now, there has been collusion between Hillary Clinton, the (Democratic National Committee) and the Russians. Unfortunately, you people don't cover that very much. But the only collusion is between Hillary and the Russians and the DNC," he said.
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Russia willing to banish Americans over diplomatic dispute: Zakharova

Russia Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the country was prepared to banish American diplomats if the United States (US) does not undo its decision to expel 35 Russian diplomats and block access to Russian diplomatic estates.

CNN quoted the ministry's spokeswoman, Maria V Zakharova, as saying that after US President Donald Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin last week, Russia expected the US "to take a more constructive approach" to resolving the dispute.

"The time is ticking," Zakharova said. "We know how to respond."

In December, former US President Barack Obama ordered the removal of 35 Russians suspected of being spies after American intelligence agencies concluded that Russia had tried to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

Adding to this, Obama administration announced that it would close two Russian waterfront compounds outside Washington and New York, describing them as spy nests, CNN reported.

At the time, Russian President Putin said that his would not respond in kind, suggesting that he expected a different relationship with Trump administration.

Zakharova described Obama's moves as a "provocation" intended at derailing Trump's attempts to improve bilateral relations.
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