Russia’s President Vladimir Putin says Russia has never interfered in other countries’ political issues, though there have been such attempts towards Russia, he said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Sochi.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday to discuss key international issues such as the Syrian conflict, the situation in Ukraine and battling terrorism, as well as bilateral ties between Moscow and Berlin.

Putin called such attempts “futile” after a German reporter asked whether Chancellor Angela Merkel was worried about the possibility of Russia meddling in her country’s upcoming elections, as it allegedly did during the US elections.

“You have referred to an example that hasn’t been proven by anyone or anything. These are merely rumors that are being used in US political in-fighting,” Putin said.

“We never interfere, either in political life or in the political processes of other countries. We would also like that no one would interfere in Russia’s political life,” Putin said.

“Unfortunately, what we see is precisely the opposite. We have seen attempts to interfere in internal political processes in Russia for a very long time,” he noted, adding that this happens through various NGOs and even directly.

“Realizing how harmful and futile these efforts are, we have never even thought of meddling in the political processes in other countries,” Putin said.

Source: RT