The links between Ukraine and the American man who allegedly tried to kill ex-US President and Republican candidate Donald Trump should concern Washington and its intelligence services rather than Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Peskov commented on the new assassination attempt on Trump and on the apparent links of the alleged perpetrator to Ukraine.
“That’s not us but the US intelligence services who should be thinking about this. In any case, playing with fire has its consequences,” Peskov stated.
Moscow is closely watching the situation unfolding in the US after Sunday’s attack on Trump, Peskov continued, noting that the American political landscape seemingly is growing even more “tense.” Russia has “never interfered in this in any way, and we are not interfering now,” he stressed.
“It is difficult to say here, it is really not our business, but we, of course, closely monitor the information that comes from the US, we see how tense the situation is there, including between political competitors, the political struggle is intensifying, the most different methods are used,” Peskov said.
The former US president dodged another assassination attempt on Sunday, less than two months after he was shot at and grazed by a bullet during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
In the apparent planned gun attack at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, the Republican candidate was playing golf when the armed suspect was detected near the property and shot at by Secret Service agents. The man fled the scene and was apprehended shortly after.
The suspect was identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, a former Republican who is now a Democrat and a strong supporter of Kiev. While the suspect had claimed involvement with the Ukrainian military in social media posts and in a self-published book, Kiev acknowledged having contacts with Routh but insisted it had turned down his services, describing his ideas as “delusional.”