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MANILA. — Donald Trump said yesterday he backed the US intelligence agencies who concluded that Russia meddled in the 2016 US presidential election, but slammed “fools” who oppose better ties with Moscow. Key former Trump aides are under US investigation for possible collaboration with the Kremlin, and the issue of whether Moscow interfered with last year’s vote has overshadowed the tail end of the president’s Asia tour.

Trump returned to the subject in a Twitter storm in Vietnam, which also saw him take a sarcastic dig at North Korea’s “short and fat” leader Kim Jong-Un. At a press conference in Hanoi, Trump was asked to clarify comments he had made the day before about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s insistence that Moscow had never tried to affect the US vote.

“I believe he feels he and Russia did not meddle in the election,” Trump said.
“As to whether or not I believe it or not, I’m with our agencies. I believe in our . . . intelligence agencies,” he added. But in his barrage of tweets, Trump slammed “haters and fools” who questioned his efforts to improve ties with Russia.

“There (sic) always playing politics — bad for our country. I want to solve North Korea, Syria, Ukraine, terrorism, and Russia can greatly help!” he said. — AFP.