Moscow's man in Washington a true Beltway insider
WASHINGTON -- Sergey Kislyak has been Moscow’s man in Washington since 2008. He described Russia’s view of America in November, two days after the election.
“The difference between your exceptionalism and ours is that we are not trying to impose on you ours, but you don’t hesitate to impose on us yours. And it’s something we don’t appreciate,” he said.
The 66-year-old met with several Trump associates both during and after the campaign, including Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and campaign advisers Carter Page and J.D. Gordon.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions met with Kislyak twice: once at the Republican convention and once in September in Sessions’ Senate office.
Michael McFaul was the U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014.
“Of course, Ambassador Kislyak is meeting with Senator Sessions not to talk about what his committee is doing. He could care less about that,” McFaul said.
“He’s talking to them to find out about what the candidate Trump is thinking and planning about foreign policy.”
In November, Mr. Trump’s spokeswoman told the Associated Press “there was no communication between the campaign and any foreign entity.” The president has also denied any contact.
“I have nothing to do with Russia,” he said during a February press conference.
The Russian embassy has refused to comment on Kislyak’s meetings. But he has boasted about his deep contacts in the U.S.
“I personally have been working in the United State so long that I know almost everybody,” he said.
Kislyak has also met with top Democrats like Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, something Mr. Trump pointed out on Twitter Friday.
While the Hillary Clinton campaign says no one there met with the ambassador, he did visit the Obama White House 22 times.
