WASHINGTON (AP) — The former NATO secretary-general says Russian President Vladimir Putin "must be laughing" at how successfully he's undermined the credibility of Western democratic institutions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Council of Heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Sochi, Russia, October 11, 2017. Thomson Reuters

WASHINGTON (AP) — The former NATO secretary-general says Russian President Vladimir Putin "must be laughing" at how successfully he's undermined the credibility of Western democratic institutions.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen (AHN'-derz fohg RAHS'-moo-sihn) is now a top adviser to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

He tells The Associated Press that Putin achieved "much more than he could have ever dreamed" through a "very modest investment" in interfering with America's election.

Rasmussen is urging the Trump administration to end its "conflicting messages" on Russian aggression and U.S. responses. He says Putin will see weakness and exploit it.

Rasmussen says the US must explain why it missed a deadline to implement congressionally-mandated Russia sanctions. He's also calling for the US to provide lethal weaponry to Ukraine and designate it a major non-NATO ally.