US sees Russia probe as halting ties between two nation

The probe into potential collusion between U.S. President Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Moscow is probably undermining U.S. ties with Russia, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Friday, but she denied it was the reason Trump cancelled his planned G20 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Sanders disparaged Mueller's investigation as the "Russian Witch Hunt Hoax" in a statement and added, "unfortunately, it probably does undermine our relationship with Russia."

"However, the reason for our cancelled meeting in Ukraine," she said.

Separately, a White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied a report that Trump planned a "pull-aside" meeting with Putin at the G20 after cancelling plans for a longer bilateral.

(With inputs from agencies.)