Putin Assured Bolton of Non-Interference in Presidential Election - Trump's Aide

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US National Security Adviser John Bolton said Sunday that during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin the Russian leader assured him that there was no Moscow's meddling in the US 2016 presidential election.

"I’ll tell you what President Putin said to me, through the translator of course, that – he said 'there was no meddling in the 2016 election by the Russian state," Bolton said in the interview with the Fox News broadcaster.

On Wednesday, Bolton met with Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow to discuss various aspects of the US-Russian relations.

As for the upcoming meeting between Putin and US President Donald Trump, which is expected to take place on July 16 in the Finnish capital of Helsinki, Bolton said that it would be good if it results in a breakthrough in the bilateral relations, but for Washington, the meeting itself was more important than the result.

"The main rationale to have a bilateral meeting between Trump and Putin: let them discuss these issues and see exactly where there might be room for progress, or where they might find there's no room at all," Bolton said.

The US official stressed that Trump sought to understand the Russian position, adding that "perhaps, more importantly, he wants Vladimir Putin to understand our positions."

READ MORE: US Not Expecting Specific Results From Planned Putin-Trump Summit — Bolton

Since Trump won the 2016 presidential election, the US authorities have been investigating on various levels the allegations about campaign team's possible collusion with Russia, and have claimed that Moscow meddled in the election process to help Trump win against then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

The Russian authorities have repeatedly refuted all allegations as groundless.

READ MORE: Trump Advisors 'Ignored' President's Request for Meeting With Putin — Reports