Vladimir Putin has denied that Russia has interfered in the US election, claiming that those who believed Moscow could influence the vote were implying the US was a “banana republic”. Putin dismissed claims of Russian meddling as “hysteria” and lectured the US on democracy. He also denied that Donald Trump was the Kremlin’s favoured candidate, though he praised the tycoon’s controversial campaign.

In a speech to an annual gathering of Russian and foreign politicians and analysts in Sochi on Thursday, Putin attacked the US over its foreign policy in recent years. “Does anyone seriously think that Russia can affect the choice of the American people? What, is America a banana republic? America’s a great power. Correct me if I’m wrong,” he said.

The US government has formally accused Russia of hacking into the Democratic party’s servers, and there has been scrutiny of Russian links among some of Trump’s former and current campaign staff.

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The Russian president criticised the tone of the US campaign and suggested there was little difference between the candidates. “Elections have ceased to be an instrument of change, and are all about scandals, about blackmail, and discussion of who groped whom and who is sleeping with whom,” he said.



Asked whether Trump was the Kremlin’s favourite, Putin said this was a fake narrative cooked up by western media. “It’s total nonsense. It’s just a form of manipulating public opinion,” he said. Nevertheless, Russian state media has made no secret of its preference for Trump, and has suggested the election may be rigged in Hillary Clinton’s favour.



Putin also praised Trump’s style and campaign: “He chose his own way of reaching voters’ hearts. Of course he’s behaving extravagantly, but I don’t think it’s necessarily without reason. I think he is representing the interests of that part of the American electorate, and it’s a significant part, that is tired of the same elite who have been in power for decades. He is representing the interests of ordinary people.”

At the same time, he claimed there was little difference between Trump and Clinton: “If you look at the programmes of the different candidates, you get the feeling that they are all tailored in the same way, and that the differences between them are insignificant, and in reality there are no differences.”

Putin said the US had a number of problems, including huge debt and gun crime, and that politicians had no answers. “There is nothing to calm society with, and so it’s easier to distract people with supposed Russian hackers, spies and agents of interest.”

