U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Belgian's Prime Minsiter Charles Michel (not pictured) in Brussels, Belgium. May 24, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. spies learned last summer that Russian officials discussed influencing Donald Trump through his advisers Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn, The New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing three current and former U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence.

Russian intelligence and political officials appeared confident that Manafort, Trump’s campaign chairman at the time, and Flynn, who was fired as White House national security adviser in February over his conversations with Russia’s ambassador, could be used to help shape Trump’s opinions on Russia, the Times reported.