SAVONLINNA, FINLAND (CNN) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that it is a "pity US-Russia relations are being sacrificed."
The Russian president said he "very much regrets" worsening relations with the U.S. "It is a pity that relations are being sacrificed due to a domestic American issue," Putin said at a press conference in Savonlinna, Finland.
"What we are seeing (in the U.S.) is merely anti-Russia hysteria," Putin said in response to CNN's Matthew Chance's question about the state of the relationship, considering the investigation in Congress into allegations of Russian meddling and possible tightening of sanctions.
Putin responded, "The first point about the election of the U.S. president, it is not our business, and it is not up to us to assess what he does in this very senior post, that's up to the U.S. public."
Putin then spoke about the ongoing investigations.
"As far as the investigation is concern(ed), I don't actually think it is an investigation because an investigation implies a full study and analysis of the situation. What we see is merely a growth of anti-Russian hysteria…for domestic policies between President Trump, and his political opponents. So it's an internal problem.”
The Russian leader was in Finland to mark the 100th anniversary of Finland’s independence from Russia.
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