Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday the United States was in the grip of a fabricated “spymania” whipped up by President Donald Trump’s opponents, but that he believes battered U.S.-Russia relations would recover one day.
Putin also praised Trump for what he said were his uncontested achievements.
“I’m not the one to evaluate the [U.S.] president’s work. That needs to be done by the voters, the American people,” Putin told an audience of more than 1,600 Russian and foreign reporters in a Moscow conference hall for his annual end-of-year news conference.
“[But] we are objectively seeing that there have been some major accomplishments, even in the short time he has been
working. Look at how the markets have grown. This speaks to investors’ trust in the American economy.”
Three hour wait to get in – 400 technical staff helped with set up; 35 tons of gear and a gazillion cameras and photogs. #putin pic.twitter.com/K3jkVjBZPf
Trump took office in January, saying he was keen to mend ties that had fallen to a post-Cold War low. But since then, ties have soured further after U.S. officials said Russia meddled in the presidential election — something Moscow denies.
The U.S. Congress is also investigating alleged contacts between the Trump election campaign and Russian official amid fears that Moscow may have been trying to exercise improper influence.
Putin dismissed those allegations and the idea of any kind of improper Russia connection as “fabricated” and “invented by people who oppose Trump to give his work an illegitimate character.”
He said he was puzzled by the infighting, which “inflicted damage to the [U.S.] domestic political situation” and showed “lack of respect for voters” who chose Trump.
He did, however, warn the U.S. not to use force against North Korea, adding that the consequences will be “catastrophic.”
You have to use a sign to get Putin’s press secretary’s attention. This is ours. pic.twitter.com/Wu7vYw09Tj
He emphasized that Russia opposes Pyongyang’s nuclear bid and is ready for “constructive” co-operation to end the standoff. He added, however, that the U.S. “provoked” Pyongyang to develop its nuclear and missile programs by spiking a 2005 deal with Pyongyang.
He also said the U.S. was behind charges of Russian doping at the 2014 Olympics that prompted the International Olympic Committee to ban Russia from competing at the 2018 Winter Games.
Putin suggested the FBI has manipulated evidence from the main whistleblower, Grigory Rodchenkov, who is under witness protection after fleeing to the United States last year. Rodchenkov is “under the control” of the FBI and “American special services.”
He indicated that U.S. agencies may be giving Rodchenkov unspecified “substances so that he says what’s required.”
Putin, seeking a new term in office in a March election, said he would run as an independent candidate while hoping for support from more than one political party.
Putin, 65, has been in power, either as president or prime minister, since 2000, longer than veteran Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and outstripped only by dictator Josef Stalin.
If, as expected, he wins what would be a fourth presidential term, he will be eligible to serve another six years until 2024, when he turns 72.
Putin said Russia made a huge leap over the past two decades with life expectancy that has grown by almost eight years, gross domestic product up by some 70 per cent and modernization of the army.
