Fox News’ Chris Wallace grilled Vladimir Putin on Monday when he asked the Russian leader about his repeated denial of the idea that his government operatives worked to interfere with America’s 2016 president election.

Putin said he wanted Donald Trump to win the presidency during their joint press conference today, but he said at multiple points that the charges of election-meddling are “utterly ridiculous.” To that point, Wallace presented him with the Justice Department’s list of indictments for 12 Russian military intelligence operatives who have been identified as part of the effort to swing the election in Trump’s favor.

The conversation eventually moved on with Putin countering accusations from Robert Mueller‘s special counsel, saying “the American court has not discovered any trace of interference whatsoever.”

“Why wouldn’t Special Counsel Mueller send us an official request within the framework of this agreement?” Putin asked. “Our investigators will be acting in accordance with this treaty. They will question each individual that the American partners are suspecting of something. Why not a single request was filed?”

Wallace noted that the indictment could be viewed in the light of a request, but he moved on to ask Putin if he thought Mueller tried to “sabotage” the Trump summit with the timing of his indictments.

Putin’s answer:

“I’m not interested in this issue. It’s the internal political games of the United States. Don’t make the relationship between Russia and the United States – don’t hold it hostage of this internal political struggle. And it’s quite clear to me that this is used in the internal political struggle, and it’s nothing to be proud of for American democracy, to use such dirty methods in the political rivalry.”

Watch above, via Fox News.

[Image via screengrab]

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