Vladimir Putin praises Donald Trump by calling him a normal ‘extravagant’ American as he denies meddling in US election
Russian president also fired back at 'fictitious' claims he was interfering in the race for the White House
VLADIMIR Putin praised "extravagant" Donald Trump as he shot down claims he was "interfering" in the US Presidential election.
The president claimed the "fictitious" allegations about Russia's involvement were to distract the public from real issues.
Russia has been accused of coordinating the hacks of Hillary Clinton's emails to influence the White House race.
But Putin told foreign policy experts in Sochi: "Does anyone seriously think Russia can somehow influence the American people's choice?"
"Is America some kind of banana republic? America is a great power!"
Putin labelled suggestions he favoured Trump as "sheer nonsense".
"It's just an instrument of political struggle, a way of manipulating public opinion," he said.
However the Russian leader added that while Trump may sound "extravagant," he was trying to reach out to normal people.
He said: "Mr. Trump, he has probably chosen his own method to get through to voters' hearts.
"He behaves extravagantly of course, we see this, but I think there's a reason for this, because in my opinion he represents the interests of that part of society - and it is quite big in the United States - which is tired of the elite who have been in power for decades."
Speaking on Wednesday evening, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry insisted that Washington has no doubts of direct Russian involvement in the hacking.
He said: "The president would not have authorised a release of the assessment to the intelligence community if we didn't feel that it was serious and also if we didn't feel that it was certain.
Kerry said he has confronted Russian counterparts such as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the matter.
"Their response is to demand the evidence and to ask for it,"; he said.
"And my response to that is, 'Let's not be foolish here. You know what we're talking about.'"
Russian warships have passed through the English Channel on route to Syria.
But in the Sochi interview, Putin also shrugged off allegations that Russia harbours aggressive military intentions in Europe.
"Of course, it's quite pleasant and sometimes advantageous to cast oneself as a defender of civilisation from some kind of new barbarians, but Russia has no intention to attack anyone," Putin claimed.
Putin voiced regret about a quick collapse last month of a cease-fire in Syria brokered by Russia and the USA and blamed unidentified forces in Washington.
"It's very difficult to talk to the current administration, because it doesn't fulfill any agreements, including on Syria," Putin said.
"If we agree on something, it's necessary to honour the agreement and, at the very least, not try to shift blame and accuse us of all deadly sins."
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