Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had harsh words for the U.S. presidential election when asked Wednesday about Donald Trump’s lewd comments about women, saying there are "pussies" on both sides of the race for the White House.
CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour asked Lavrov for his take on Trump’s 2005 remark that "when you’re a star" women allow men to "grab them by the pussy." The comments were leaked Friday in a now viral video that has led more than two dozen Republican lawmakers to withdraw their support for the Republican nominee.
Lavrov, who speaks fluent English, pointed out the language is not his "mother tongue" and that he was unsure if he would sound "decent" before responding, "There are so many pussies around the presidential campaign on both sides that I prefer not to comment."
Lavrov had earlier dismissed Washington’s accusations that the Kremlin was launching cyber attacks against American political computer networks to influence the election as "ridiculous."
Lavrov told CNN while it is "flattering" that U.S. officials believe Russia is interfering in the election, the charges are unsubstantiated.
"Now everybody in the United States is saying that it is Russia which is running the [U.S.] presidential debate," he said. "We have not seen a single fact, a single proof."
U.S. intelligence officials on Friday formally accused Russia’s senior level officials of directing hackers to break into American political systems.
The Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security charged that the Russians were behind the high profile hack into the Democratic National Committee and subsequent breaches of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a number of Hillary Clinton campaign staffers, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has adamantly rejected the Kremlin’s involvement in the U.S. cyber breaches, said Wednesday that hacking members of the Democratic Party is not in his country’s interest. He condemned U.S. officials for "starting this hysteria."