From the March 22 edition of Fox News' The Story with Martha MacCallum:
MARTHA MACCALLUM (HOST): So in terms of the substance of that discussion with Vladimir Putin, you know, your thoughts on the fact that the president did congratulate him on his election.
JOHN BOLTON: I don't consider it a significant point one way or the other, really. I’ve said congratulations to a lot of people, foreign diplomats and officials. It's a matter of being polite. The president had other subjects to bring up according to press reporting. I was not involved in any way in the preparations for it. The election just took place. I think it's a matter of courtesy more than anything else.