Putin denies that Trump passed Israeli intelligence to Russia

Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump had not passed on any secrets to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting in Washington last week and that he could prove it.

The intervention came as Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the incident in a phone call, a spokesman said on Wednesday, as controversy brewed over the US president's sharing of classified Israeli intelligence with Russia.

Speaking at a news conference alongside Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin quipped that Lavrov was remiss for not passing on what he made clear he believed were non-existent secrets.

"I spoke to him (Lavrov) today," said Putin with a smile. "I'll be forced to issue him with a reprimand because he did not share these secrets with us. Not with me, nor with representatives of Russia's intelligence services. It was very bad of him."

Putin, who said Moscow rated Lavrov's meeting with Trump "highly," said Russia was ready to hand a transcript of Trump's meeting with Lavrov over to US lawmakers if that would help reassure them.

A Kremlin aide, Yuri Ushakov, later told reporters that Moscow had in its possession a written record of the conversation, not an audio recording.

'Political schizophrenia'

The leak plunged the White House into another security controversy just months into Trump's short tenure in office. It has prompted cries from Democratic lawmakers in Washington that Trump cannot be trusted with vital information.

But complaining about what he said were signs of "political schizophrenia" in the United States, Putin said Trump was not being allowed to do his job properly.

Earlier a spokesman in Netanyahu's office confirmed the phone call took place on Tuesday afternoon but did not say who initiated it.

Trump is due to visit Israel next week.

"There was a call yesterday between the president and prime minister for about 20 minutes," the spokesman said. "The only topic discussed was the upcoming visit."

Israel meanwhile sought to contain fallout from Trump's sharing of its intelligence with Russia, while not commenting directly on the move.

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman lauded security ties between the United States and his country, saying it would continue to be "unprecedented" in scope.

But he made no mention of Trump divulging intelligence to Russia that a US administration official said had originally come from Israel.

The United States is Israel's most important ally, providing it with more than $3 billion in defence aid each year.

The Washington Post reported late Monday that Trump revealed what it said was highly classified information on the Islamic State group (IS) during a meeting last week with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Moscow's Washington ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

It said that Trump told Lavrov about a specific IS bomb threat.

A US administration official confirmed to AFP on condition of anonymity that the original intelligence came from Israel, which was initially reported by the New York Times. Other reports had earlier speculated that Jordan had been the source of the information.

Later on Wednesday, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said there has been "no disruption" in relations with allies over the leaks.

"We always have safeguarded information from our allies and there's nothing that has caused them to, we've received no questions at all," Mattis said. 

"We maintain steady military relations with our friends, our partners, our allies. There has been no disruption whatsoever, everything is quite steady and it's a stable situation going forward, including into NATO," he added, referring to the upcoming alliance meeting in Brussels.

Mattis spoke briefly ahead of a meeting with the Angolan defense minister at the Pentagon. 

His remarks come as the scandal threatens to corrode trust among allies who shared classified information with the United States on the understanding it would be handled within the usual guidelines.

The news comes amid reports Trump tried to influence an investigation into his team's dealings with Russia.

US media have quoted a memo by former FBI director James Comey that reportedly says the President pressured him to drop an inquiry into links between his ex-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Moscow.

The fallout from both issues continues to dominate in the US capital, with moves by Democrat lawmakers to launch an independent commission starting to gather pace.

Speaking on Wednesday, Trump told US Coast Guard Academy graduates in Connecticut: "No politician in history has been treated worse or more unfairly."