“Listen, does it even matter who hacked this data?”. “The important thing is that the content was given to the public”, he stated.
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Thousands of the DNC’s emails and documents were hacked earlier this year, revealing that the DNC gave preferential treatment to Hillary Clinton over her Democratic rival Bernie Sanders. In July, Wikileaks published 20,000 private emails from DNC staff following the breach.
Putin said that Russian Federation had no stake in either the Democratic or Republican nominee and criticized both for using what he called “shock tactics”, seeming to refer to the two candidates’ sometimes brutal attacks on each other.
“In my opinion we’re gradually heading in the right direction and I don’t exclude that we’ll be able to agree on something in the near future and present our agreements to the global community”, Putin said in an interview with Bloomberg News.
The Russian government has been accused of trying to interfere in the upcoming USA elections, and a letter from Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid seen by the New York Times asks the FBI to investigate possible links to Donald Trump’s campaign.
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.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has spoken favorably of Putin, said in July that the hack was “probably not” carried out by Russian Federation, though he was enthusiastic about the prospect.
“The past should not be an obstacle to moving forward”, Putin said during a question-and-answer session at the forum, where he shared the stage with Abe. Putin poured cold water over such allegations again.
While Putin denied rumors that he was responsible for the DNC hack, he still thinks that whoever did it was doing a public favor. “We have never interfered, are not interfering and do not intend to interfere in domestic politics”, he said.
“Iran is starting from a very low position, connected with the well-known sanctions in relation to this country”, Putin said. “I’m not sure that even our Foreign Ministry experts are sensitive enough”.
Since the DNC hack, congressional staffers, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation generals, Washington think tanks, top news outlets and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have also been subjected to alleged intrusions.
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“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”.
