Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said those who consider him a "friend of Russia" are "sick."
His statement came in an interview with Arizona journalist Tucker Carlson.
"They like to say I was a friend of Russia. I worked for Russia, I was a Russian spy - these people are sick," Trump said.
According to journalist Bob Woodward's new book, Trump secretly spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin as many as seven times after he left office.
The former US president has repeatedly supported and praised Putin and rarely criticized him. In 2022, he described Russia's invasion of Ukraine as "ingenious" and "cunning."
Trump later blamed Volodymyr Zelensky and Joe Biden for the war Moscow started.
The interview with Carlson came less than a week before the US presidential election, when Trump will face the Democratic candidate - Vice President Kamala Harris.
During the election campaign, Trump has repeatedly said that if elected president, he could end the war with Russia within 24 hours, without specifying how he intends to achieve this.
In the interview with Carlsson, the Republican said that the actions he has taken in relation to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline show that he is not friendly towards Russia.
Under Trump, the US government has imposed sanctions against Russian companies and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany. | BGNES
