Without citing its sources, Italian daily Corriere della Sera claimed that Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte had authorised the two meetings in Rome with Gennaro Vecchione, head of the DIS intelligence service, as well as other officials in August and last week.

“I respect and take notice of what is reported in the media but if I have to make things clear I will do it exclusively in the appropriate forums. On the rest, no comment”, Vecchione said in a statement.

Conte’s office in Rome is yet to comment.

US intelligence agencies and Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election using hacking and propaganda to boost Trump’s candidacy and vilify his opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Mueller outlined a series of contacts between Trump’s campaign and Russia.

Trump, who is running for re-election next year, has described the investigation as a “witch hunt” and has made numerous attempts to discredit it.

Barr, a Trump appointee who is the top US law enforcement official, is personally involved in investigating Trump’s complaints that he and his 2016 campaign were improperly targeted by US intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

Barr in May appointed federal prosecutor John Durham to investigate the matter.

Corriere della Sera said Barr’s meetings focused on the origins of the Russia investigation and on the actions of Joseph Mifsud, a Maltese university professor and a key figure in the events that led to the probe.

Mifsud was teaching at a Rome university when the scandal unfolded.

His current whereabouts are unknown.

When former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty last year to US criminal charges arising from the Mueller investigation, he said Mifsud had told him in April 2016 that Russia had “dirt” on Clinton, three months before hacked emails started appearing online and hindering the Clinton campaign.

Papadopoulos also told Australian diplomat Alexander Downer in May 2016 that Russia had political dirt on Clinton.

Australian officials passed that information to their US counterparts two months later, helping trigger an FBI probe into Russian attempts to influence the US election results.

Corriere della Sera said Barr requested that the Italian agencies provide any documentation they had gathered.