WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Donald Trump is "very eager" to speak to the special counsel overseeing the Russia election meddling probe into claims that he colluded with Moscow, his lawyer said.

Ty Cob told CBS in interview excerpts released on Thursday (Jan 18) that Trump is "very eager to sit down and explain whatever is responsive to the questions" that Robert Mueller might pose.

Trump last week said he did not expect to meet with Mueller.

"When they have no collusion ... it seems unlikely that you'd even have an interview," Trump told a news conference in which he said he repeated no-collusion several times.

Those comments were a change from ones he made in June last year when he said he was "100 percent" willing to testify under oath about conversations he had with former FBI director James Comey.

The Mueller team is also looking at is Trump's abrupt firing of Comey in May and whether this was intended to thwart the Russia investigation - which could amount to obstruction of justice.