Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested hackers in the United States could have "shifted the blame" to Russia "in the midst of a big political battle".
He seemed to be referring to the conclusion of US intelligence agencies that Russia tried to interfere in last year's presidential election via hacking of the Democratic National Committee and a top Clinton campaign official.
"Hackers can be anywhere," Mr Putin told US journalist Megyn Kelly in an exclusive interview for the debut of her new NBC primetime show.
"They can be in Russia, in Asia... even in America, Latin America. They can even be hackers, by the way, in the United States, who very skilfully and professionally, shifted the blame, as we say, on to Russia.
"Can you imagine something like that? In the midst of a political battle. By some calculations it was convenient for them to release this information, so they released it, citing Russia. Could you imagine something like that? I can."
The clip aired on NBC Nightly News on Friday, and the full interview will air on Sunday on the premiere episode of Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly.
Ms Kelly moderated a forum earlier in the day in St Petersburg in which Mr Putin joked that Ms Kelly's "underage daughter" could have been responsible for the hacking.
Reuters
