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‘Can’t play Trump like a fiddle’: Kremlin puts Bolton’s Putin-baiting crusade to rest

The spokesman was asked to comment on remarks made by Trump’s ex-National Security Advisor John Bolton ahead of publication of his book

US President Donald Trump AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File

US President Donald Trump

© AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File

MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin does not think his US counterpart Donald Trump could be manipulated, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists Friday, commenting on remarks made by Trump’s ex-National Security Advisor John Bolton ahead of publication of his book.

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"Putin cannot play Trump like a fiddle," Peskov said, commenting on Bolton’s relevant remark. "What Putin thinks of Trump, he himself said repeatedly in numerous interviews."

Answering a question whether Putin considers Trump easy to manipulate, Peskov said that he does not.

Earlier, the US Ministry of Justice, which also acts as the Prosecutor General’s Office, filed a lawsuit against Bolton over the upcoming publication of his memoirs. The US authorities accuse Bolton of violation of non-disclosure obligations towards state secrets, which Bolton took upon himself when he became a presidential aide.

Bolton’s book was initially supposed to be published in March, but its publication was postponed first until May and later until June 23. On January 23, the White House National Security Council sent a note to the ex-aide’s lawyer, Charles Cooper, notifying him that the book contains state secrets and therefore cannot be published in its current form. The critics say the White House seeks to prevent undermining of the incumbent president’s ratings ahead of the upcoming elections, since Trump plans running for re-election.

Trump appointed Bolton his National Security Advisor in March 2018, and dismissed him 18 months later.

Anti-Russian sanctions

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