Russian President Vladimir Putin maintained reports of Russia's election meddling "are fictional, illusory, and provocations, lies" during a panel Thursday moderated by CNBC. When asked explicitly if Russia interfered — as U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded it has — Putin dismissed the allegations as falsehoods used for "domestic American politics" that "different political forces" employ to "consolidate their positions."
"'Watch my lips: No,'" said Putin, paraphrasing former President George H.W. Bush to assert his denial. Putin insisted Russia sees the U.S. "as a great power with which we want to establish good partnership relations."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Who is actually running DOGE?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The White House said in a court filing that Elon Musk isn't the official head of Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency task force, raising questions about just who is overseeing DOGE's federal blitzkrieg
-
How does the Kennedy Center work?The Explainer The D.C. institution has become a cultural touchstone. Why did Trump take over?
-
What are reciprocal tariffs?The Explainer And will they fix America's trade deficit?
-
Trump officials try to reverse DOGE-led firingsSpeed Read Mass firings by Elon Musk's team have included employees working on the H5N1 bird flu epidemic and US nuclear weapons programs
-
Trump blames Ukraine for war after US-Russia talksSpeed Read The US and Russia have agreed to work together on ending the Ukraine war — but President Trump has flipped America's approach
-
Musk's DOGE seeks access to IRS, Social Security filesSpeed Read If cleared, the Department of Government Efficiency would have access to tax returns, bank records and other highly personal information about most Americans
-
Senate confirms RFK Jr. as health secretarySpeed Read The noted vaccine skeptic is now in charge of America's massive public health system
-
Trump lays out plans for broad 'reciprocal' tariffsSpeed Read Tariffs imposed on countries that are deemed to be treating the US unfairly could ignite a global trade war and worsen American inflation
-
Top US prosecutors resign rather than drop Adams casespeed read The interim US attorney for the Southern District and five senior Justice Department officials quit following an order to drop the charges against Mayor Eric Adams
-
Senate confirms Gabbard as intelligence chiefSpeed Read The controversial former Democratic lawmaker, now Trump loyalist, was sworn in as director of national intelligence
-
Trump, Putin plan Ukraine peace talks without KyivSpeed Read President Donald Trump spoke by phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not included
