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Russia has not taken any destructive steps against US, Putin says

The Russian leader dismissed claims of Russia’s meddling in the US 2020 election as laughable

© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

MOSCOW, October 2. /TASS/. Russia has not taken any destructive steps against the US, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

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"Russia has not taken a single destructive step with respect to the US. Not a single one. If you have a different opinion, then substantiate it and furnish some evidence," he said at the plenary session of the Russian Energy Week forum.

The Russian president has dismissed statements on Russia’s potential meddling in the US 2020 election as laughable.

"He [former US Special Counsel Robert Mueller — TASS] did not find any proof of our collusion with Trump in the past, however, he expressed concern that we might collude in the future. This is laughable. It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad," Putin told the plenary session of the Russian Energy Week.

In response to a question on whether Russia plans to meddle in the upcoming US presidential election in 2020, Putin joked: "Let me tell you a secret: yes, we will definitely do that, just to entertain you even more." The Russian leader added that Russia is busy with resolving its domestic problems.

The Russian leader also reassured that his conversations with US President Donald Trump could in no way compromise his US colleague’s reputation.

"Listen, I have not been working my entire life in the capacity that I occupy today. And based on my previous experience, I learned that any of my conversations could be published and I take this into consideration," Putin noted.

"So, when they tried to spin another scandal linked to our meeting with President Trump in Helsinki, we said directly to the administration: well, if someone wants to learn something — well then, publish it. We are not against. I assure you that there is nothing there that could compromise Trump," Putin stated.

According to Putin, the Washington administration refused to disclose the conversations between the Russian and US leaders. "They just did not want to do that, as far as I understand, due to their principal considerations. There are things that must be closed, that’s it," the Russian leader said.

President Putin added that Russia will work with any president elected by the US people. "We will work with any partner, any president elected by the American people," the Russian leader said.

The Mueller probe

In May 2017, the US Department of Justice announced that former FBI Chief Robert Mueller had been appointed as special counsel to investigate alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election. On the outcomes of the probe, Mueller failed to prove that US President Donald Trump had colluded with the Russian government to win the election.

A report by US Attorney General William Burr published on March 24 has confirmed that there was no collusion between Moscow and the Donald Trump presidential campaign. However, the document claims that Russia attempted to influence the outcome of the US 2016 presidential election through cyberattacks, as well as through the activities of Russia’s Internet Research Agency.

Trump and key members of his team have been repeatedly rejecting all the accusations concerning any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Moscow has also been refuting these allegations.

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