MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. The situation with the Russian mass media in the United States and the ceaseless allegations of Russia’s alleged interference into the US elections are nothing but spy hysteria and nonsense, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at his annual news conference on Thursday.
"It is a globally recognized practice when diplomats, even government officials, meet with all the candidates, their teams to discuss certain issues, and development prospects. What is wrong with that? Why should it evolve into spy hysteria?" the Russian leader stressed.
- Trump: Democratic Party uses Russia as ‘phony excuse’ for losing presidential election
- No proof of Moscow’s interference in US election — Russian ambassador
- Kremlin hopes probes into US election will not lead to whipping up Russophobic hysteria
- No leaks whatsoever showing any evidence of 'Russian meddling' in US elections — Lavrov
"You saw the investigation concerning social networks. Advertising of our companies accounted for second decimal places while US companies, in terms of advertising, were represented by 100, 200, 300%. These are incommensurable things. But some seem to think it is still too much," he said. "The same can be said about the situation with our mass media. Their share in the overall volume of information is next to zero as compared with what the US global media is doing across the world and in Russia.
"The same can be said about the situation with our mass media. Their share in an overall volume of information is next to zero as compared with what the US global media are doing across the world and in Russia. And even this is seen as a threat," he stressed. "So, what about the freedom of information, a founding stone of the American democracy?"
Putin: Trump’s opponents concocted all the allegations
The president is certain that Trump’s opponents concocted all the allegations about Russia’s supposed meddling in the US election.
"All that was invented by the people who are in opposition to Trump to make his work illegitimate," Putin stressed.
"I find this very odd, frankly speaking. It seems to be done without realizing that, by doing this, people harm the country’s domestic political climate and weaken the capabilities of the elected head of state. That means that they have no respect for all those who voted for him (Trump)," Putin said.
"People who perform the activities that were entrusted to them by their voters must maintain a working contact," Putin said at his annual news conference. "I hope gradually possibilities will emerge for him [Trump] to establish contacts with Russia and he will embark on a path of his campaign promises and plans."
Putin declined to evaluate the performance of his US counterpart Donald Trump but pointed to the growing US economy and markets.
"It is not up to me to evaluate President Trump’s activities, it is his voters, the American people, who should do that," Putin said at his annual news conference on Thursday. "We actually see that some serious achievements have been made during the short period of time that has passed since he took office. Just look at how the markets have gone up," he added.
According to Putin, it shows that investors trust the US economy. "It shows they trust in what President Trump has been doing in this field. With all due respect for the domestic opposition to President Trump, these are objective factors," the Russian leader said.
He also pointed out that there were some things that Trump "would like to do but has been unable to accomplish." "I mean the healthcare reform and some other fields," Putin added.