A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman has been accused of suggesting Donald Trump's election victory was part of a "Jewish conspiracy", despite a sharp rise in anti-Semitic attacks over the past year.

Maria Zakharova said Jewish people in New York had told her they had mainly supported the Republican nominee, adding that American Jews were the best guide to US politics.

"I have a lot of friends and acquaintances there, of course I was interested to find out: how are the elections going, what are the American people's expectations?" she said on a Russian chat show, recalling a visit to New York with an official Russian delegation in September.

"If you want to know what will happen in America, who do you need to talk to? You have to talk to the Jews, of course. It goes without saying," Ms Zakharova said, drawing applause from the TV studio audience.