President Putin: Russia does not possess any documents damaging to Mr. Trump

Russian President Vladimir Putin at a press conference in Helsinki on July 16. AP photo

"We have no documents or means, and never will. I do not want to offend President Trump, nor do I want to be impolite, but one thing is certain: before Mr. Trump became a candidate for the presidential election, he was not of Russia's interest," President Putin said.

The Russian President added: "Mr. Trump is a rich man, but there are many rich people like that in America. He is involved in business, trade, organizes beauty contests. None of us could imagine him becoming the President of the United States."

To assert that Russia did not interfere in the 2016 US presidential election, President Putin began by citing the annual International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg. "There were 550 American businessmen there, many of whom own huge assets than President Trump. So what do you think, do we, with our responsibility, serve everyone in the best way, by eavesdropping and spying, or by what?" - President Putin asked Fox News.

"First of all, we do not do this. Obviously, the US has accused us. Secondly, we do not have much money, neither the strength nor the means to monitor everyone. This is impossible, it can never appear in our plans. And of course, we do not do anything similar to Mr. Trump" - Russian President Putin analyzed.

Since the US accused Russia of interfering in the 2016 US presidential election, President Putin has repeatedly denied it. "I said this in 2016, and I will say it again so that the American audience, American citizens, can clearly hear my answer. Russia has never interfered in the internal affairs of the United States, especially in the presidential election. It is absurd that from Russian territory it can seriously influence the election in the United States and influence the choices of millions of American citizens. That is ridiculous," President Putin emphasized.

The Russian president added that the most important thing is for government agencies to recognize this reality and orient public opinion in the United States. From there, publicly apologize to voters for what happened, rather than trying to find culprits or make accusations.

In January 2016, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report stating that there was a hacker attack on the computer system, aimed at undermining the confidence of American voters in the presidential election, discrediting candidate Hillary Clinton to increase the chances of candidate Donald Trump. No evidence was provided to prove this. Moscow has repeatedly denied allegations of its interference in the US election process.