We have a news agency. It is called Life. Everyone is trying to prod us closer to life. (Laughter.)

You know, there is a category of people who leave without saying goodbye, out of respect for the situation that has evolved, so as not to upset anything. And then there are people who keep saying goodbye but don't leave. I believe the outgoing administration belongs to the second category.

What are we seeing in the United States? We are seeing the continuation of an acute internal political struggle despite the fact that the presidential election is over and it ended in Mr Trump's convincing victory. Nevertheless, in my opinion, several goals are being set in this struggle. Maybe there are more, but some of them are perfectly obvious.

The first is to undermine the legitimacy of the US president-elect. By the way, in this regard, I would like to point out that whether deliberately or not, these people are causing enormous damage to US interests. Simply enormous. The impression is that, after a practice run in Kiev, they are now ready to organise a Maidan in Washington to prevent Trump from taking office.

The second goal is to tie the new president's hands as he works to fulfil the campaign promises he made to the American people both at home and abroad. Well, think, how can anything be done to improve Russian-US relations if red herrings such as interference by hackers in the election campaign are trotted out? Although to reiterate, hackers - whoever they are - did not compile anything; they did not make anything up; they only disclosed material. Or, especially, if Russian special services have some compromising material on the president-elect.

Look, I am not acquainted with Mr Trump. I have never met him. I do not know what he will do in the international arena, so I have no reason either to attack him or criticise him for whatever reason or to defend him, no matter what. We will not even ask the Nobel Committee to give him a Nobel Prize for mathematics or physics or any other subject. I have absolutely no grounds for that. However, these leaks are obviously fabricated.

When Mr Trump came to Moscow a few years ago - I don't remember exactly when - he was not a politician. We were unaware of his political ambitions. He was just a businessman to us, one of the wealthiest men in America. Does anyone think that our special services are chasing after every American billionaire? Of course not. It's nonsense. That's my first point.

Second, concerning the allegation that Trump arrived in Moscow and the first thing he did was meet with Moscow prostitutes. First, he is an adult and, second, he has for many years sponsored beauty contests and had the chance to meet the world's most beautiful women. Why would he run to a hotel to meet up with our girls of limited social responsibility? Although they are, of course, the best in the world. But I doubt that Trump fell for it.

Finally, there's one more consideration. Prostitution is an ugly social phenomenon. Among other things, young women engage in it because they cannot make a decent living otherwise. To a great extent, the guilt lies with society and the state.

People who order these kinds of fabrications, which are now being used to smear the US President-elect, and use it to advance their political agenda are worse than prostitutes. They have no moral constraints at all. By the way, Russia is constantly dealing with such people, our opponents. The fact that such methods are being used against the President-elect of the United States is certainly unparalleled and has never happened before. This indicates the significant level of degradation among political elites in the West, including the United States.

But I very much hope that common sense will prevail. This applies to relations between the United States and its allies, including in Europe. After all, it is the current outgoing administration that has involved many European political leaders in the US domestic political fight. Today's problems are the result of these activities.

I am sure that major mutual interests will set things right. Of course, there may be nuances, and it might leave a bad aftertaste, but still things will fall into place eventually. By the same token, I am sure, we will eventually be able to return to normal state-to-state relations in the interests of both the peoples of Europe and the peoples of Russia and the United States, which will contribute to advancing the global economy, stabilising the international situation and providing security.

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