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Putin says Russia has no intention to influence US election campaign

Moscow does not know if both candidates are going to fulfill their plans in case of victory, Putin explained

BENAULIM, October 16. /TASS/. Russia has no intention to influence the US election campaign as it has no idea what line will be chosen by the next American leader, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"I want to set everyone’s mind at rest, including our American friends and partners - we are not going to influence the US election campaign and the answer is very simple - we don’t know what will be after the US presidential elections," Putin said.

Putin explained that while Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump calls for cooperation with Russia, at least in the fight against terrorism, and Democrat Hillary Clinton has more aggressive rhetoric towards Russia, Moscow does not know if they fulfill their plans in case of victory.

"But I believe it is harmful and counterproductive to sacrifice the Russian-US relations during the domestic political events in the US," Putin said. "They mutter in the ear: Wait, (the election campaign) will be over and everything will normalize. But you know, this is not that funny already."

"If anyone wants confrontation - this is not our choice, this means that there will be some problems, and we don’t want this. We would like on the contrary to search for common ground and solve global problems together that Russia, the US and the whole world are facing," the president said.