Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday denied that the Russian state had ever been involved in hacking.

"We don't engage in that at the state level," Putin said at a meeting with senior editors of leading international news agencies, according to The Associated Press.

Putin said, however, that individual “patriotic” hackers could launch attacks, the AP reported.

"No hackers can influence election campaigns in any country of Europe, Asia or America," Putin added.

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The comments come amid investigations into alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential race.

The Justice Department last month named a special counsel to investigate the Russian election meddling.

The House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday issued seven new subpoenas in its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential race.

President Trump has decried the Russia investigation as a "witch hunt."

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday that Trump's administration will stop answering questions from reporters about the investigation into the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia.

Instead, he said any future questions would be addressed by Trump's lawyer.