Putin Remarks on Mueller’s ‘Russiagate’ Report—‘the Mountain Gave Birth to a Mouse’

April 10, 2019 (EIRNS)—Commenting on the fiasco of the final report by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Russian collusion, Russian President Vladimir Putin characterized it as “The mountain gave birth to a mouse.”

“From the very beginning we said that this notorious commission led by Mr. Mueller won’t find anything, because no one knows better than us: Russia has not meddled in any U.S. election, there was no collusion between Trump and Russia, which Mr. Mueller had looked for,” Putin told the plenary session of the International Arctic Forum in St. Petersburg on April 9.

“This is total nonsense aimed mainly at the domestic audience and used in the domestic political struggle in the U.S. itself,”

Putin stressed, reported TASS. “That’s why it was clear for us beforehand that this [commission] would end so—as the saying goes, ‘the mountain gave birth to a mouse.’ ”

However, Putin expanded on the ongoing deterioration of the U.S. political situation, with the attacks, from both inside and outside the government, on the U.S. President:

“Look at what is happening. The groups that are attacking the duly elected President do not agree with the choice made by the American people. They are nullifying the result.

“This amounts to a crisis of the political system. We have never seen anything like this in U.S. history before. Yes, there may be a fierce campaign but once a nominee wins, everyone accepts it. This was always the case and all people united around the head of state to meet common national challenges. We are not seeing anything of the kind in the U.S. now. On the contrary, the rift is deepening.

“Do you understand what happened? They put their group or party interests above the national interest. This is what happened.”

On the prospects for improving U.S.-Russian relations, Putin replied:

“I feel that many bilateral matters are currently perceived under the pressure of the domestic political situation. We hope when the situation gets back to normal, prospects will open for cooperation, including bilateral, on the issues I mentioned. And they include terrorism, epidemics and the environment. Actually, there are many issues, including arms control.

“I think we are all interested in that but we will start working when the conditions in the U.S. are right. It does not depend on whether we want it or not. ... We respect the choice of the American people. We are ready to work with their President whoever it might be.”