In a sarcastic outburst, President Vladimir Putin on Thursday scoffed at former Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey's disclosure of his conversations with U.S. President Donald Trump, saying the move has made Comey eligible for political asylum in Russian Federation.
After facing a wave of protests on Monday, Vladimir Putin was center stage before his nation today in a televised live call-in show.
Comey earlier told the Senate Intelligence Committee in the most eagerly anticipated USA congressional hearing in years that he believed Trump had directed him to drop an FBI probe into the Republican president's former national security adviser as part of the Russian Federation investigation.
"Trump was, in a sense, slapped in the face with two weeks to go", Stone said.
He added, "By the way, if he faces any kind of prosecution in this regard, we will provide political asylum in Russian Federation for him as well".
During the broadcast, a man from Arizona who said he was a "friend of Russia" called in and asked Putin how he could combat "racist Russophobia" in the United States.
Comey testified last week that he orchestrated the leak of accounts of conversations with US President Donald Trump because he thought it might lead to the appointment of a special prosecutor to lead the Russian Federation investigation into alleged meddling in the 2016 Presidential election.
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In comments aimed at a domestic audience, Putin insisted the latest USA sanctions over alleged election meddling are efforts to "contain Russia". On Thursday, during the phone-in session, Mr Putin even made a sarcastic offer of asylum to James Comey.
Putin said it was important to find dialogue with the U.S. to help solve global issues such as fighting poverty and radicalism, and said he was "ready for constructive dialogue" with Trump.
Vladimir Putin compared Mr Comey to USA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who now lives in Russian Federation.
Striking a more serious note, Putin said Comey, in his congressional testimony, had produced no proof that Russian Federation had meddled in the USA election.
However, recent games show "there is potential", Putin added. But the 64-year-old did not reveal if he plans to seek another term in the 2018 election, although he is widely expected to do so.
"My daughters are involved in science and education, they don't get involved in any politics", Putin said.
"Putin, do you really think people believe this circus with staged questions?" asked one viewer.
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