Russian President Vladimir Putin said the firing of former FBI Director James Comey will have “no effect” on U.S.-Russia relations, reacting for the first time to President Trump’s dramatic ouster of the man leading the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign.
Putin spoke with CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer shortly before taking to the ice at a hockey game in Sochi. Palmer asked the Russian leader how Comey’s firing would impact already frosty relations between the two nations.
“There will be no effect,” Putin said, with press aide Dmitry Peskov translating. “Your question looks very funny for me. Don’t be angry with me. We have nothing to do with that.”
“President Trump is acting in accordance with his competence, in accordance with his law and Constitution,” Putin said. “What about us? Why we?”
Originally published by CBS News.
