Russian President Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich PutinRussia: US trying to foment revolution in Belarus The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by The Air Line Pilots Association - Pence lauds Harris as 'experienced debater'; Trump, Biden diverge over debate prep US must demand equal access to Russian airwaves MORE says relations between Russia and the United States have worsened since President Trump Donald John TrumpBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Military leaders asked about using heat ray on protesters outside White House: report Powell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could 'scar and damage' economy MORE took office.

"One could say that the level of trust on a working level, especially on the military level, has not improved, but rather has deteriorated,” Putin said Wednesday, according to Reuters.

Trump last week ordered the U.S. military to launch missiles at a Syrian air base believed to be the launching point of a deadly chemical weapons attack earlier this month, which U.S. and Western officials have blamed on Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is facing armed opposition in the country's yearslong civil war.

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The Kremlin has been supporting Assad both militarily and politically since the start of the conflict in 2011.

The chemical weapons attack, Putin said in the interview, is either the result of a Syrian government airstrike hitting a rebel stockpile or was staged to put fault on Assad.

Trump has called for friendlier relations with with Russia during his campaign and since Election Day. The U.S. intelligence community concluded that Moscow interfered in last year's presidential election specifically to help Trump win, and the FBI and both chambers of Congress have open investigations into Russian election interference as well as links between Trump's associates and the Kremlin.