Putin: Trump’s political opponents blocking efforts to improve relations with Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly said Thursday that President Trump’s political adversaries are preventing him from working toward stronger relations with the Kremlin.

In a year-end press conference, Putin said he hopes Trump still wants to work on improving United States–Russia ties, The Washington Post reported.

“There are things that he would want to do but hasn’t been able to so far, like reforming health care or other goals, for instance he spoke about improving relations with Russia,” said Putin, according to the newspaper.

{mosads}“It’s clear that even if he wanted to, he’s not in a condition to do that because of some clear restrictions,” Putin added, pointing to Trump’s critics.

Trump has been scrutinized since the 2016 presidential election for signaling that he was open to warmer relations with Russia. That scrutiny has intensified due to the special counsel’s probe into Russia’s election meddling and any potential ties between Trump campaign staff members and the Kremlin.

Trump has denied any allegations of collusion with Moscow, arguing that such charges are an excuse by Democrats for their loss in the election.