John McCain says Vladimir Putin is biggest threat to world security, not Islamic State

US Senator John McCain said Russian President Vladimir Putin is a bigger threat to global security than the Islamic State group, and warned that the Senate would push for sanctions against Moscow for its alleged interference in the US election.

McCain, a leading foreign policy voice in the US Congress, was speaking in an interview in Australia, where he has held security talks on his way to a defence summit in Singapore.

“I think he (Putin) is the premier and most important threat, more so than ISIS,” McCain said in an interview on Australian Broadcasting Corp television.

He said while there was no evidence the Russians succeeded in changing the US election outcome, they were still trying to change elections, including the recent French vote.

“I view the Russians as the far greatest challenge that we have,” said McCain, who is chairman of the US Senate Armed Services Committee.