Putin on US protests, fight against coronavirus

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday unrest in the United States sparked by the death of George Floyd was further evidence of "deep domestic crises" since the election of President Donald Trump.

"We've been seeing this for a while now," Putin said in an interview shown Sunday on state TV. "When he (Trump) won and his victory was absolutely obvious and democratic, the defeated party invented all sort of bogus stories just to call into question his legitimacy."

Putin went on to say Russia was emerging from the coronavirus crisis, but the US was struggling because it has a fragmented government system.

"Despite certain problems and losses, we are working quite steadily and getting out of this situation with the coronavirus confidently, with minimal losses," he said.

"I doubt that someone somewhere in the government or in the regions would suddenly say: 'We will not do what the government says or the president says. We consider this inappropriate',' Putin said.