'Don't Tell Anyone': Putin Jokingly Offers a Secret

In June, President Trump jokingly told Vladimir Putin not to meddle in the 2020 election. Putin apparently thinks the joke is still funny. In a panel appearance at Russian Energy Week on Wednesday, he was asked about the concerns that Russia might meddle. "I'll tell you a secret," he replied, with the Week noting he got closer to the microphone as if he were whispering. "Yes, we'll definitely do it. Just don't tell anyone."

CNN reports he continued with a straighter answer: "You know, we have enough of our own problems. We are engaged in resolving internal problems and are primarily focused on this." CNBC adds these lines: "We face huge and major goals in economic and welfare development. ... Why intervene in some country's elections?" (More Vladimir Putin stories.)