Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Putin puts blame on U.S.
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday tried to turn the tables on long-standing hacking and political interference allegations against Russia, claiming the United States was waging similar efforts into Moscow’s affairs.
At his annual marathon news conference, Putin cast a wide net with assertions that U.S. hands were behind some of the most high-profile troubles for the Kremlin, including accusations that Russian agents were behind the August nerve agent poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
But Putin did not expand on Kremlin denials that Russian government hackers were behind a recent digital spying operation that hit the Department of Homeland Security, the State, Treasury and Commerce departments and the National Institutes of Health.
Putin, however, expressed some hope of better relations with the incoming Biden administration, just days after issuing a belated congratulations to the president-elect.
Putin’s remarks on the United States were prompted by famous musician-turned-journalist Sergei Shnurov, who asked why Russian hackers didn’t help President Donald Trump get reelected.
Putin called the question a “provocation.” He repeated claims that U.S. intelligence agencies’ conclusion that Russia used cybertricks, disinformation and other methods in the 2016 election to boost Trump are “allegations used to make relations between our two nations worse, to delegitimize the presidency of the outgoing U.S. president.”
“And in this way, U.S.-Russian relations are all hostage to American domestic affairs. I think this is worse for Americans themselves,” Putin said.
He took it a step further and answered a question on recent Russian media investigations into the financial activities of his family and entourage by alleging U.S. interference in Russia’s domestic affairs.
“That’s the State Department and U.S. security services. They are the real authors. Anyway, this has clearly been done on their orders. This is absolutely obvious,” Putin said. He added that “the goal is revenge and attempts to influence public opinion in our country in order to interfere in our domestic life.”
Then he addressed Navalny’s poisoning for the first time since the website Bellingcat on Monday released the results of an investigation detailing how a team of Russian state security officers trailed Navalny for years, including on the trip to Siberia on which he was poisoned in August.
“This is not an investigation. This is an attempt to legitimize the materials provided by American intelligence officers,” Putin said. Referring to Navalny as “the patient at the Berlin clinic,” he said he “is actually supported by U.S. intelligence. Of course he’s followed by other intelligence services.”
Bellingcat’s investigation relied on leaked personal data that is widely available for purchase in Russia.
Putin seemed to confirm that Navalny was being surveilled but denied that Moscow was responsible for his poisoning. He said with a laugh, “Who needs him anyway? If we had really wanted, we’d have finished the job.”