“Listen, does it even matter who hacked this data?” the Russian president said in an interview with Bloomberg Politics out Friday. The important thing is the content given to public.
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In late July, the website Wikileaks published a collection of almost 20,000 emails obtained from the DNC.
Beyond bemoaning the candidates’ use of Russian Federation in their attacks, Putin didn’t spell out what campaign tactics in the USA he found distasteful.
The FBI is also reviewing whether APT 28 passed the files released by WikiLeaks on the eve of the Democratic National Convention, prompting a shake-up of the committee’s leadership and concern that Moscow had launched a broad cyberespionage campaign against institutions at the heart of US politics. He’ll be eager to show that Russian Federation hasn’t been left isolated by USA and European Union sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine, which together with the collapse in oil prices tipped his country into its worst recession in two decades.
Clinton spokesman Jesse Lehrich issued a statement in response to Putin’s interview, slamming the Russian president for calling the DNC hack a public good.
Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference that the Putin to Japan visit would take place at an “appropriate time” later this year.
While “we don’t trade in territories”, Russian Federation “would very much like to find a solution to this problem with our Japanese friends”, Putin said. Wikileaks did not reveal its source, though a hacker who goes by the name of Guccifer 2.0 claimed responsibility for the attack. Some officials have suggested Moscow is trying to influence the USA election.
Speaking to Bloomberg ahead of a G20 meeting in China, Putin reiterated that Russian Federation had nothing to do with the DNC hack, describing allegations to the contrary as a distraction.
Putin argued that the hacks were a positive development, however.
“Today it is obvious that we can’t let the chances that we have slide by”, he said, adding, “Each of us looks at this problem through the prism of their national interests but we all agree on one thing – we need to solve the problem”.
Putin’s view on Russia’s latest best friend, Iran, will not be sitting well with Iran’s regional archrival, Saudi Arabia, which is also OPEC’s top oil producer, with non-OPEC Russia sitting pretty as the world’s top producer.
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Clinton has rounded on her Republican rival Trump for his perceived praise of Putin and what she says is an “absolute allegiance” to Russia’s foreign policy aims.
