Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman: ‘New Cold War’ may be coming amid ongoing election hacking claims

The Kremlin’s top spokesman said Friday that Russia and the U.S. may be on the verge of a “new Cold War” as allegations concerning Moscow’s involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential race continue to run rampant in the election’s aftermath.

Dmitry Peskov pushed back against claims involving a purported hacking campaign waged by Moscow amid last year’s White House race. He spoke during an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” echoing comments made a day earlier by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“For more than a year, American audience have been a target for severe entire Russian propaganda and, of course, they felt victim of that propaganda and that’s why lots of American, they do think that, yes, Russian hackers are everywhere,” Mr. Peskov told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.

“Russian hackers are in every fridge. Russian hackers are in every iron. But this is not true. Those are fake news, and this is slander,” Mr. Peskov added.

When asked if Russia and the U.S. are approaching a new Cold War, Mr. Peskov said the future may hold something “even worse.”

“New Cold War? Well, maybe even worse,” Mr. Peskov responded. “Maybe even worse taking into account actions of the present presidential administration in Washington.”

Mr. Putin flatly denied having interfered in last year’s White House race a day earlier, contradicting conclusions reached by the U.S. intelligence community and private researchers alike.

“All those things are fictional, illusory and provocations, lies,” Mr. Putin said during a discussion Thursday in Arkhangelsk, Russia. “All these are used for domestic American political agendas. The anti-Russian card is played by different political forces inside the United States to trade on that and consolidate their positions inside.”

When pushed specifically if Russia interfered in last year’s election, Mr. Putin said: “Read my lips: No.”

The Kremlin is “100 percent confident” that Mr. Putin’s claim will prove true, his spokesman said afterward.

In Washington, meanwhile, the Senate Intelligence Committee held two open hearings Thursday devoted to Russian influence measures, particularly with respect to their role in last year’s election.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a deliberate campaign carefully constructed to undermine our election,” Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, Virginia Democrat, said Thursday morning. “This is not innuendo or a false allegation. This is not fake news. This is what actually happened to us.”