U.S. should consider sanctions if bounty reports true: Bolton

U.S. President Donald Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton said on Tuesday the United States should consider economic sanctions on Russia as part of a strong U.S. response if it is true that Moscow offered bounty payments to Taliban forces for killing Americans in Afghanistan.

Speaking to Reuters Television, Bolton said the reports, if confirmed, were "tantamount to an attack on Americans directly" and the publication of them appears to have triggered "chaos and confusion" within the White House.

"What we need is a more comprehensive strategy to deal with Russia. I think in (Russian President) Vladimir Putin and his government, you've got somebody playing a very weak hand very well. And I don't really think we're playing much of a hand at all," he said.

Bolton declined to confirm or deny reports in the New York Times and Washington Post of U.S. intelligence about the bounties. Trump denied on Monday having been briefed on the effort, which the reports said may have led to the deaths of U.S. service personnel.

"It's been suggested in Congress that Russia be declared a state sponsor of terrorism if we decide these reports are true. I think it's got to be a very strong response to re-establish deterrence," he said in an interview, part of a promotion of his White House memoir, "The Room Where it Happened."

At a minimum, Bolton said, economic sanctions should be among the options Trump should consider in response.