Vladimir Putin Denies Cyberattacks on US Ahead of Summit With President Biden
President Vladimir Putin dismissed accusations that Russia was behind cyberattacks against the United States as “farcical” in an interview with NBC broadcast on Monday ahead of his summit with President Joe Biden.
The Russian leader also said he was open to a prison swap with the United States – the fate of prisoners is set to be on the agenda when the two meet in Geneva on Wednesday – and said that jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny would “not be treated any worse than anybody else.”
US President Biden will attend the summit after a week of meeting allies from the G7, European Union and NATO, with tensions between Moscow and Washington at their highest in years over a long list of disputes.
Asked if Russia was waging a “cyber war” against the United States, Putin said: “Where is proof? It’s becoming farcical.”
“We have been accused of all kinds of things, election interference, cyberattacks and so on and so forth, and not once, not one time, did they bother to produce any kind of evidence or proof, just unfounded accusations.”
US companies, including a major fuel pipeline network, have been hit by cyberattacks in recent months, often forcing temporary shutdowns until ransoms are paid.
