Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson has challenged U.S. officials on Friday to prove their accusations that Russia was involved in cyber attacks to influence the U.S. presidential election.

“They should either stop talking about that or produce some proof at least. Otherwise it all begins to look unseemly,’’ Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov earlier described the allegations as groundless, “ludicrous nonsense,’’ following a report by American broadcaster NBC that alleged Putin was personally involved in Russian hacking to influence the U.S. poll.

The NBC report said unnamed U.S. officials alleged that Putin had personally directed how hacked material from Democrats was leaked and otherwise used.

The unnamed officials said the intelligence on the matter had come from diplomatic sources and spies, the report said. (dpa/NAN)