Russian President Vladimir Putin rebuked Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday in response to a recent interview in which Biden promised the U.S. would send a “message” to Russia for allegedly meddling in the 2016 presidential election with cyberattacks.
In a preview clip of Sunday morning’s “Meet the Press” released on Friday, Biden said, “We have the capacity to do it and the message will be sent. He’ll know it, and it will be at the time of our choosing and under the circumstances that have the greatest impact.”
Putin said Biden’s comments are meant to be a distraction to deflect attention from the economic problems affecting the U.S. He also said that during the election season, U.S.-Russian relations take a hit as they are leveraged in order to gain political sway.
“One can expect just about anything from our American friends,” Putin said, according to RT, a television network funded by the Russian government. He added that Russia is already well aware of U.S. efforts to spy on his country.
On the result of the 2016 election, Putin said whoever wins, they are “welcome” to work with Russia.
“I hope that after the election period in the US, there will be a chance to restore relations between Moscow and Washington,” Putin said.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign has blamed Russia for recent cyberattacks, notably the hack of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s email account, which has been released in waves via WikiLeaks. Podesta has also suggested that GOP nominee Donald Trump is possibly involved.
U.S. officials have also tied Russia to a number of hacking incidents, including cyberattacks on Democratic organizations.
According to NBC News, the Obama administration is contemplating a possible cyberattack against Russia.
