TEHRAN, October 20 -The Russian Foreign Ministry says the United States is hurling “ludicrous accusations” against a Russian woman for allegedly influencing the upcoming US congressional elections, stressing that Washington is inventing a pretext to impose further sanctions against Moscow.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -On Friday, the US Justice Department indicted Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova, 44, for allegedly playing a key financial role in a Moscow-supported plan to carry out “information warfare” against the United States, including ongoing purported attempts to influence midterm congressional elections, slated for November 6.
The Russian national was officially charged in the indictment to have participated in a conspiracy through handling the funds used to pay online trolls for posting comments in an attempt to “sow discord in the US political system and to undermine faith in our democratic institutions.”
In a statement released on Saturday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov denounced the “ludicrous accusations” against Khusyaynova, saying the sole purpose of “laughable ‘body of proof’ presented by the US government was simply to slap Moscow with a new round of sanctions.”
He also strongly rejected the charges as “flagrant lies,” which are part of a “shameful slanderous campaign” against Moscow, and lambasted Washington for seeing the mythical “hand of Moscow” in its internal affairs.
Ryabkov added that “certain” American politicians hope to use charges against Russia to gain the upper hand in “interparty brawls” ahead of the upcoming elections.
“While exhibiting hostility towards Russia and looking down on the whole world, they will only meet tougher pushback,” he went on to say.
The alleged activities attributed to Khusyaynova are part of what Washington calls Russian strategic efforts to interfere in the elections in the United States, including the 2016 presidential race which brought incumbent President Donald Trump to power, and the upcoming midterms.
Moscow has time and again denied the allegations on interfering in other countries’ democratic process, dismissing them as part of a “Russophobia” campaign run by the West.
Source: Press TV
Your Comment