Putin Again Denies Interference in U.S. Election

HELSINKI — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin (all times local):

2 a.m.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump is the beginning of Russia’s path back from Western isolation.

Putin spoke to Fox News after his summit Monday with Trump.

The Russian leader says the recent U.S. indictment against 12 Russian military officials accused of hacking crimes during the 2016 presidential election is part of an internal political game. He is denying state-sanctioned Russian interference in the election.

Putin also denies having compromising information on Trump and says he “was of no interest for us” before he announced his run for presidency,

When asked why so many of his critics wind up dead, Putin is blaming troubles with crime in Russia and noting the U.S. has struggled, too, citing John F. Kennedy’s assassination and clashes between police and civilians.

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10:45 p.m.

Facing withering bipartisan criticism over his refusal to publicly acknowledge Russian election meddling during his meeting with President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump says the two superpowers “must get along.”

In a Monday tweet sent as he is flying back to the U.S. aboard Air Force One, Trump says, “As I said today and many times before, ‘I have GREAT confidence in MY intelligence people.’”

He adds, “However, I also recognize that in order to build a brighter future, we cannot exclusively focus on the past — as the world’s two largest nuclear powers, we must get along!”

Trump met with Putin for three hours Monday before participating in a joint press conference in which Trump did not contest the Russian leader’s election meddling denials.

U.S. intelligence agencies have unanimously concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 campaign, most likely to help Trump’s campaign.

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7:25 p.m.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected allegations that Moscow has collected compromising materials on U.S. President Donald Trump or his family.

Asked during a joint news conference following their summit in Helsinki, the Russian leader dismissed the claims as “sheer nonsense.”

Putin said that he hadn’t been aware of Trump’s visit to Moscow a few years before his 2016 election, which has been stained by accusations that Russians hacked and interfered in the campaign to support Trump.

Putin, a former KGB agent, scoffed at the notion that the Russian security services try to gather incriminating materials on businessmen, saying: “Do you really believe that we try to shadow every businessman?”

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7:15 p.m.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he wanted Donald Trump to win the U.S. presidency, but strongly denied any Russian state meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

Putin argued that Trump’s calls for better ties during the presidential election campaign “naturally” made him a preferred candidate for many Russians.

Asked if he personally favored Trump in the race, Putin responded: “Yes, I wanted him to win because he spoke of normalization of Russian-U.S. ties.”

At the same time, Putin rejected the allegations of collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia as “complete nonsense.”

The issue is a big concern for many U.S. voters.

Putin spoke during a joint news conference with Trump in Helsinki.

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7:05 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he sees no reason why Russia would interfere in the 2016 election.

Trump resisted when asked Monday to condemn Russian meddling in the election. Instead, he complained about a Democratic National Committee computer server and emails belonging to Hillary Clinton, the Democrat he defeated to win the presidency.

At a joint appearance in Finland with Vladimir Putin, Trump repeated the Russian leader’s denials about involvement in the election.

Trump said of Putin: “He just said it’s not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be.”

Trump commented after holding hours of private talks with Putin.

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7 p.m.

President Vladimir Putin says that Moscow and Washington could jointly conduct criminal investigations into Russian intelligence officials accused of hacking during the 2016 U.S. election campaign.

Asked if Russia could extradite 12 Russian military intelligence officers indicted in the U.S. last week on charges of hacking into the Democratic election campaign, Putin challenged the U.S. to take advantage of a 1999 agreement envisaging mutual legal assistance.

He said the agreement would allow U.S. officials to request that Russian authorities interrogate the 12 suspects, adding that U.S. officials could request to be present in such interrogations.

Putin noted that Russia would expect the U.S. to return the favor and cooperate in the Russian probe against William Browder, a British investor charged of financial crimes in Russia. Browder was a driving force behind a U.S. law targeting Russian officials over human rights abuses.

Putin spoke after a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Helsinki on Monday.

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7 p.m.

President Donald Trump says Russian President Vladimir Putin made an “incredible offer” to allow Russian and U.S. investigators to work together on allegations of Russian cyber attacks.

Trump says Putin suggested the U.S. provide its intelligence to the Russian military so Russia can determine the truth of what happened.

Trump says he has “great confidence” in his intelligence agencies who have concluded Russia interfered in the election. But Trump says Putin was “incredibly strong and powerful today” in his contention that Russia had nothing to do with election interference.

The two presidents spoke during a joint news conference following talks in Helsinki.

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6:55 p.m.

President Donald Trump says the Russia investigation has been a “disaster” for the United States and has kept America and Russia “separated.”

Speaking during a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, he reiterates that there was “no collusion” between his campaign and the Russian government.

Trump says he ran a “clean campaign” and he beat his Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton “easily.” The president says it’s a “shame” there is a cloud over his administration. He says he ran a “brilliant campaign and that’s why I’m president.”

Putin is pushing back against claims that his government interfered in the U.S. election. He says there’s “no evidence when it comes to the actual facts.”