A spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed President Donald Trump’s claim in an interview that Russia was “probably” involved in assassinations and poisonings.
The question, and Trump’s answer, referenced the alleged Russian poisonings, using the substance Novichok, of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Britain in March.
“I wouldn’t make the assessment that Trump allowed that possibility and so on, as we’re reading in many media reports,” the Russian spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov (above, left), said Monday as quoted by Meduza.
“Here you’ve got to be very flexible with how you read the linguistic properties. It’s clear that there couldn’t have been a different answer,” Peskov added.
CBS’ Lesley Stahl asked Trump in the “60 Minutes” interview, which was recorded last week and aired Sunday night, whether he agreed that “Vladimir Putin is involved in assassinations? In poisonings?”
“Probably he is, yeah. Probably. I mean, I don’t—” Trump began in response.
“Probably?” Stahl interjected.
“But I rely on them, it’s not in our country,” Trump said, referring either to British accusations against Russia, or Russian denials thereof.
The investigative journalism outlet Bellingcat last month identified undercover Russian military intelligence officers as likely suspects in the Skripal poisonings, and in the later homicide via poison of British citizen Dawn Sturgess, whose husband found Novichok disguised in a perfume bottle on the street near the town of the Skripal poisonings.
H/t The Washington Post.
Trump’s tortured syntax and blathering nonsense = Russian “linguistics gymnastics”
If anyone knows how to score Trump correctly, it would have to be the Russian linguistic gymnastics judge.
Flexible about murder?
No thanks.
We’re a Christian nation. Don’t let the sociopath temporarily in the White House fool you.
A what now?
Yep, not like those murderous Muslimmy countries, no, Sir !