Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized House Democrats for impeaching President Donald Trump for what he called “made up reasons” and expressed his confidence that Senate Republicans would keep only the third executive impeached in power.

Putin held an annual news conference in Moscow hours after the House of Representatives voted mostly down party lines Wednesday to impeach Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of justice. Putin was asked at the lengthy news conference about his strategy for dealing with the U.S. until the end of Trump’s presidency.

“Regarding the continuation of our dialogue till the end of Trump’s presidency, you make it sound as if it’s already coming to an end,” Putin said, according to CNN. “I actually really doubt that it is ending. It still has to go through Senate, where as far as I know, the Republicans hold the majority. So it’s unlikely they will want to remove the representative of their party for some made-up reasons.”

Putin also used a Trump talking point to criticize Democrats, arguing that impeaching Trump as a result […]