Russian social network Vkontakte confirms that it invited Trump to join, but says he never responded

The Russian social network Vkontakte has confirmed that it invited Donald Trump to create a page on its website, but claims it never received a response from his representatives.

Vkontakte says it welcomes Western public figures on its network and helps them create and operate their accounts. “We’d be thrilled if Mr. Trump and the presidents of other countries became Vkontakte users,” a spokesperson for the website told Meduza.

• On December 7, The Washington Post reported that an executive at Vkontakte “made several overtures to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016 [...] urging the candidate to create a page on the website to appeal to Russian Americans and Russians.” The emails were reportedly sent to Donald Trump Jr. and the campaign’s social media director, Dan Scanvino, in January and November 2016. According to The Washington Post, the emails “show a new point of direct contact between an influential Russian and advisers to Trump during the 2016 race.”