News / Russia

Russia rejects claims of meddling in US election campaign

Wednesday, 27 July 2016 12:36 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 27 July 2016 12:47 PM ]

Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov ©AP

The Kremlin has dismissed the US allegations of interfering in the country’s presidential election campaign after Washington blamed Russian hackers for a leak of US Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails.

Speaking at a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly emphasized that Moscow “has never interfered and does not interfere in the internal affairs … of other countries.”

"Moscow has carefully avoided any actions, any words that could be interpreted as direct or indirect influence on the electoral process," Peskov added.

He further denied claims by US officials that Russia was involved in Friday’s leak of over 19,000 DNC emails, which forced Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida to resign as the chairwoman of the committee.

In an interview with NBC News set to be aired on Wednesday, US President Barack Obama said that it was possible that Russia would try to influence the US presidential election.

Obama also claimed that Federal Bureau of Investigation experts have attributed the leak of the DNC emails to the Russians, saying, “What we do know is that the Russians hack our systems, not just government systems but private systems.”

He further noted that he was aware of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's positive comments about the Russian leadership.

Elsewhere in his comments, Peskov said the Kremlin regretted that politicians in Washington were playing the "Russian card," adding that it had become "the main card of their game."

"This reminds me of a company where they tell each other horror stories and then start being frightened of their own stories," he added.

The US 2016 presidential election will be held on November 8, with over a hundred million Americans expected to go to the polls.

Hillary Clinton, who recently received the Democratic nomination at the party's convention in Philadelphia, will face Trump in the election.

Trump has often expressed admiration for Putin, calling him a "strong leader." The Russian president has also praised the Republican nominee as "a very striking man" and "unquestionably talented.”

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