Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking at the 8th annual VTB Capital "Russia Calling!" Investment Forum in in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016.Russiaâs economy has been on its way down since it slipped into recession at the start of last year. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
The Associated Press
MOSCOW (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is rebuffing accusations that Moscow is meddling in U.S. elections through hacking and says the identity of the cyber-criminal is unimportant.
U.S. officials accused Russia last week of coordinating hacks of the Democratic National Convention and other U.S. institutions.
Putin says Wednesday in Moscow that "hysterics have been whipped up to distract the attention of the American people from the essence of what the hackers released ... For some reason nobody talks about this. They talk about who did it. Is it really that important?"
Putin said U.S. politicians were "abusing anti-Russian rhetoric" ahead of the Nov. 8 election, but called the attention flattering.
He says "Problem No. 1 in the electoral campaign is Russia. That's all they talk about. This, of course, very pleasant."
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the 8th annual VTB Capital "Russia Calling!" Investment Forum in in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016.Russiaâs economy has been on its way down since it slipped into recession at the start of last year. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The Associated Press
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, speaks at the 8th annual VTB Capital "Russia Calling!" Investment Forum in in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016.Russiaâs economy has been on its way down since it slipped into recession at the start of last year. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The Associated Press
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks at the 8th annual VTB Capital "Russia Calling!" Investment Forum in in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016.Russiaâs economy has been on its way down since it slipped into recession at the start of last year. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
The Associated Press
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and VTB Bank Chairman Andrei Kostin attend the 8th annual VTB Capital "Russia Calling!" Investment Forum in in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016.Russiaâs economy has been on its way down since it slipped into recession at the start of last year. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
The Associated Press
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking at the 8th annual VTB Capital "Russia Calling!" Investment Forum in in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016.Russiaâs economy has been on its way down since it slipped into recession at the start of last year. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
The Associated Press
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with participants in a sports forum while visiting the city of Kovrov, some 250 km (about 156 miles) northeast of Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016. Russian President Vladimir Putin claims therapeutic use exemptions for banned substances give athletes an unfair advantage. (Alexei Nikolsky/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The Associated Press
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to attend the 8th annual VTB Capital "Russia Calling!" Investment Forum in in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016. Russiaâs economy has been on its way down since it slipped into recession at the start of last year. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
The Associated Press