Putin says Russia hasn't meddled in US vote and never will

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday reaffirmed his staunch denial that his government meddled in the 2016 US presidential election, adding that Moscow has no intention of interfering in any future votes, either.

Speaking in response to a question from The Associated Press during a meeting with chief executives of international news agencies in St Petersburg, the Russian leader said that "we didn't meddle, we aren't meddling and we will not meddle in any elections."
"We aren't building any military bases there, we aren't sending troops there, we have never done that," Putin said. "But we have fulfilled our contract obligations in the sphere of military-technical cooperation and we will keep doing that."
Putin said "the crisis in Venezuela should be settled by the Venezuelan people," noting that "through dialogue, consultations and cooperation between various political forces, the Venezuelan people themselves must decide whether Mr. Maduro should stay in power or not."
The Russian leader said he feels "absolutely neutral" about Guaid, describing him as a "nice person," but added that his leadership claim has created a precedent that could "lead to chaos across the world."
Putin added that Russia has surged ahead of others, developing an array of new nuclear weapons that will help ensure its security for "a long historic perspective," but he voiced concern about the "complete dismantling of arms control mechanisms."