Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at the final session of three-day Valdai International discussion club’s 13th annual meeting in Sochi. In the three-day meeting titled, ‘The Future in Progress: Shaping the World of Tomorrow’ Mr. Putin touched upon various issues including allegations that Russia is influencing US election of 2016.
He said, that Russia is being used as a scapegoat to distract the American people from serious issues. He said, "It's much simpler to distract people with so-called Russian hackers, spies, and agents of influence. Does anyone really think that Russia could influence the American people's choice in any way? The numbers of mythical, dreamt-up problems include the hysteria - I can't think of another word - that has broken out in the United States about the influence of Russia on the current elections for the US president. ". He ended his comments asking if American has turned into a banana republic.
With regard to Russian aggression, he said that Russia has no intention of attacking anyone; "Russia has no intention of attacking anyone, it is ridiculous, foolish and unthinkable. I read your analytical materials prepared not only by those present but also by analysts in the US and Europe. However, it is just unthinkable, silly and unrealistic. In Europe alone, the combined population of NATO countries stands at 300 million, in the US the total population is, probably, 600 million, while in Russia - 146 million. It is just funny to talk about this." He added, "Regrettably, next to nothing has changed for the better in the past months. To be frank, nothing has changed. Contradictions stemming from redistribution of economic power and political influence are only growing"
Mr. Putin criticized the choices of political elites made decades ago that has led to the crisis in Europe and around the world. He stressed that the globalization should’ve been for all and he is still confident that the current challenges can be overcome by acting together. He said that Russia’s military threat is being largely exaggerated.
He kept his comment short with regard to Syria. Just added that Russia’s agreement with the United States in Syria didn’t work out.
