Russia’s state-owned television shows have mocked the outcry over the country's alleged hacking of the US 2016 presidential election ahead of an upcoming summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
Russia 24, a government-funded network covering domestic and international news, criticised the issue of cyber security being included in Mr Putin’s planned discussions with American officials. In the same segment, Russian news analysts also derided CNN and one of its shows, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, for its coverage of the election hacking.
"Cyber security is a topic for this summit because what are the main accusations that we hear in the past years from the American side?" A Russia 24 analyst said. ”That our great and terrible Russian hackers invaded the American space."
The analyst went on to say Americans viewed the alleged hacking as “aggression against the country” and believed the Russian government “caused some trouble there.”
“What trouble did we cause?” he asked. “We just elected Trump, that’s all.”
The comments were made during a recent panel on the network after Mr Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton met with Mr Putin to outline the discussions the Russian and US presidents would soon have with each other.
A live studio audience for the panel began laughing and clapping following the analyst’s joke about Russia electing Mr Trump to the White House.
It’s not the first time Russian television has stirred controversy over the Kremlin’s relationship with the US. In April, a news anchor for the state-run network Vesti 24 mocked US fears about a potential nuclear war with Russia, jokingly advising audiences to eat “fewer sweets and more water.”
"It should be noted that real panic isn't here but across the ocean," the presenter said, adding the fact that bunker sales in the US have risen since Mr Trump’s election.
