Russian President Vladimir Putin claims his government is being falsely accused by the United States of interfering in its elections and harboring cybercriminals targeting America’s infrastructure, food supply and hospitals. 

“Where is the evidence? Where is proof?” Putin said in an interview with NBC News from Moscow that aired Monday morning. “It's becoming farcical. We know it well. We have been accused of all kinds of things — election interference, cyberattacks, and so on and so forth. And not once, not once, not one time did they bother to produce any kind of evidence or proof, just unfounded accusations.”

Putin’s remarks were translated to English in the interview.

U.S. intelligence has provided evidence of Russian hacking and election meddling. The U.S. also has pointed the finger at Russia for the SolarWinds hack that gave cybercriminals unfettered access for months to the files and emails of businesses and agencies. And the federal government has accused the Russian government of harboring hackers responsible for recent ransomware attacks that have extorted millions of dollars from businesses in the United States, including on the Colonial gas pipeline and JBS, the world’s largest meat supplier.

Putin said he’s concerned the U.S. and its allies will use the accusations as a pretext to carry out cyberattacks on his country.

“What people can be afraid of in America, the very same thing can be a danger to us,” the Russian president said. “U.S. is a high-tech country. NATO has declared cyberspace an area of combat. That means they are planning something. They are preparing something. So obviously this cannot but worry us.”

Putin and President Joe Biden are scheduled to meet face-to-face in Geneva on Wednesday. Some of the issues they are expected to discuss include election meddling and other cyberattacks, as well as Russia’s incursions in Ukraine, the poisoning and imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny (the Kremlin has vehemently denied any involvement in Navalny's poisoning), and the possible release of two former Marines jailed in Russia.

Paul Whelan is serving a 16-year sentence after being convicted of suspicion of spying, and Trevor Reed is serving eight years after he was found guilty of assaulting two police officers. They both deny the allegations. The U.S. believes the men are being used as bargaining chips by the Russian government and has called for their release.

“I know that we have certain U.S. citizens who are in prison after convicted, but if one considers the number of Russian Federation citizens who are in U.S. prisons, then these numbers don't even compare,” Putin told NBC.

Putin said he would “of course” be willing to do a prisoner swap.

When asked about that possibility Sunday, Biden said: “Yes, I am open to — if there are crimes committed against Russia, that in fact are people committing those crimes are being harbored in the United States, I am committed to holding them accountable.”

But White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan later walked back those comments, saying Biden was not endorsing a prisoner swap but only the idea of holding cybercriminals accountable in the U.S., whether they’ve targeted domestic or foreign networks.

When asked if he could commit to Navalny leaving prison alive, Putin said, “I proceed from the premise that the person that you have mentioned, the same kind of measures will apply not in any way worse than to anybody else.”

When NBC reporter Keir Simmons began his next question by saying, “His name is Alexei Navalny,” Putin cut him off and said, “I don’t care.”