The Washington Times: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that blaming Moscow for using cyberattacks to interfere in next month’s U.S. presidential election is mere “hysteria” whipped up by Washington.
Speaking at a Valdai International Discussion Club meeting in Sochi, Mr. Putin once again dismissed Russia’s alleged involvement in recent cyber intrusions and email leaks suffered by individuals and organizations tied to the U.S. Democratic Party.
“Hysteria has been whipped up in the United States about the influence of Russia over the U.S. presidential election,” Mr. Putin said during Thursday’s event, as translated by Reuters.
“Does anyone seriously think Russia can somehow influence the choice of the U.S. people? Is the U.S. some kind of banana republic?” Mr. Putinasked, according to AFP. “The United States is a great power. Please correct me if I’m wrong.”
The Obama administration made a rare decision earlier this month by formally blaming Moscow for recent hacks waged against the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and others in the run-up to the Nov. 8 general election.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a joint statement on Oct. 9 that said they were confident the Kremlin orchestrated the cyber campaign in an effort “to interfere with the U.S. election process,” adding “only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorized these activities.”
