Therefore, if Comey is persecuted in United States that we would be ready to offer political asylum to former FBI Director.
"I do not know the details of Comey's testimony but some things are clear to me", Putin said, referring to the ex-FBI director's address to the U.S. Senate in which he spoke of awkward encounters with Trump.
Putin went as far as comparing James Comey to Edward Snowden, the former CIA employee and contractor for the US government who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency to The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald.
Putin also answered a question about former Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey, who was sacked for investigating ties between Donald Trump's team and Russian Federation. But he displayed rather detailed knowledge of what Comey had said, noting that he had not provided evidence of alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. election.
"I do not think so", Putin said during the annual live Direct Line, during which he answered questions from Russians. In December, the administration of former President Barack Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats as punishment for their role in hacking the Democratic National Committee during the election cycle.
"And what about constant United States propaganda, constant USA support of America-oriented non-governmental organisations by giving them money directly?" Isn't it an impact on our minds? "Is that not an attempt to influence how we should behave during election campaigns?"
Putin began by announcing that Russian Federation had overcome a years-long recession, brought on by relatively low prices for a major export, oil, and tit-for-tat sanctions with Western powers over the Ukraine conflict.
He added that many heads of state around the world had told him of similar US meddling in their internal affairs.
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He said that the sanctions have given Russian Federation an incentive to shed its dependence on oil and gas exports and "switch on our brains and talents" to develop other industries.
"As for us, we have our opinion, we say it openly, but it's not some kind of underground sabotage activity", he said.
It's weird "when head of an intelligence service makes a record of his conversation with the commander-in-chief and then leaks this conversation to the media via a friend", Putin said.
He said the two countries could also cooperate in dealing with global poverty and efforts to prevent climate change.
He deplored the U.S. Senate's decision Wednesday to impose new sanctions on Russian Federation as a reflection of Western efforts to "contain" Russian Federation, but insisted that the measures have only made the country stronger. Putin said he had no particular advice to offer on that matter, but said he was sure that bilateral relations could strengthen on a basis of mutual respect.
On the phone-in show, Putin said that one grandson was born recently, to applause in the studio, while another is "already in pre-school".
"If our partners lift the sanctions. we will have to do the same, otherwise there would be problems under the World Trade Organisation", he said. "We believe that this is a result, first of all, of an intensifying internal political struggle".
"Despite the rumours, my daughters live here, in Moscow", Putin said during an annual television show, during which he answers questions from the public. "I want them to have a perfectly ordinary childhood and they are part of the collective in the kindergarten", he said.
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