Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the U.S. presidential campaigns were trying to “recreate the image of the so-called empire of evil” and accused them of playing the Russia card in the U.S. election campaign to manipulate voters, Sputnik News reported.

“As for using the image of Russia and its president in the US presidential campaign, I’d hope that the reason for this is Russia’s growing importance and influence, but I think that it is mainly about manipulating the public opinion inside the country,” he said.