MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Sunday it does not believe the U.S. government is responsible for Saturday’s attempted assassination of the U.S. presidential candidate. donald trumpbut which created an atmosphere that provoked the attack.
Trump was shot in the ear during a rally in Pennsylvania, in an attack that is now being investigated as an assassination attempt. The attacker was shot dead and authorities said they have not yet identified a motive.
“We do not believe that the attempt to eliminate and assassinate Trump was organized by the current authorities,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“But the atmosphere around candidate Trump… brought about what America faces today.”
US President Joe Biden condemned the attack, saying there was no place for this type of violence in America. Peskov said Russia condemned any violence in the course of political struggle.
His comments echoed those of some of Trump’s Republican allies, who immediately pinned the blame on Biden.
“After numerous attempts to remove candidate Trump from the political arena – initially using legal tools, the courts, prosecutors, attempts to politically discredit and compromise the candidate – it became obvious to all outside observers that his life was in danger,” he said. Peskov.
He added that there were no plans for Putin to call Trump over the incident.
World leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, quickly condemned Saturday’s attack, expressing shock, denouncing political violence and wishing Trump a speedy recovery.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry used the shooting to urge Washington to stop funding Ukraine’s military and focus on improving domestic law enforcement.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, writing on Telegram, responded to comments made by independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr following the shooting.
“Dear Bobby and all those who vote in the United States to supply weapons to Zelenskiy,” said Zakharova.
“Wouldn’t it be better if this money funded the American police and other services that are supposed to guarantee law and order in the United States?”
Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has brought Russia’s ties with the West to their lowest point since the height of the Cold War.
Asked whether Trump’s attack could affect the legitimacy of the upcoming US elections, Peskov said: “It’s not for us to judge. We have no desire to interfere. This is a US matter.”
(Reporting by Reuters; writing by Alexander Marrow; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
