Russia's Ryabkov Calls on US to Accept That Moscow Never Meddled in Its Internal Affairs

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th June, 2020) The United States should come to terms with the fact that Russia has never and will not interfere in its internal affairs, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Friday.

"We are equally interested in having our American partners finally understand that the endless theme of the 'harmful influence' of Russian actors on the internet and in the field of information and communication technologies should no longer be used as a means of internal political struggle in the United States itself and as a means to minimize the chances of moving the bilateral relations forward," Ryabkov told reporters during an online interview.

The diplomat added that Russia had repeatedly suggested that the US form a dialogue platform or framework between experts on this topic.

"This proposal remains fully valid, and we repeatedly emphasize to our American colleagues that we never interfered, do not interfere and will not interfere in their internal affairs in any possible way. They must ultimately take it as a fact," Ryabkov noted.

Russia has repeatedly denied interfering in the US political system and said the controversy over US claims of Moscow's alleged meddling in the US 2016 presidential election was made up to explain Donald Trump's victory over Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton and deflect public attention from actual instances of election fraud and corruption.