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News > World

Russia Upset US Banned Its Diplomats from Observing Election

  • A woman prepares to cast her vote at a polling station in the Bronx Borough of New York, Nov. 8, 2016.

    A woman prepares to cast her vote at a polling station in the Bronx Borough of New York, Nov. 8, 2016. | Photo: Reuters

Published 8 November 2016
Opinion

The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced the intimidation attempts against its diplomatic staff in Washington. 

The government of Russia called the United States government's ruling to limit Russian diplomats' access to polling stations to observe the presidential election “unacceptable,” while Washington formally accused the Kremlin of attempting to “interfere” in the U.S. electoral process.

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"The US administration's law enforcement officials stop at nothing to cut off Russian representatives from an opportunity to assess the provisions of holding the upcoming elections," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told state-run agency RIA Novosti Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, published a statement on Facebook denouncing intimidation against her country's diplomatic staff.

“Things went as far as open intimidation of Russian diplomats. The State Department recommended them not to approach the polling stations on their own, and authorities in some states went further and threatened (the diplomats) with criminal prosecution.”

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Last month the Russian Embassy in Washington said that its diplomats on U.S. soil had been threatened with criminal prosecution if they attempted to monitor the upcoming presidential and congressional elections at polling stations.

U.S. spy agencies have suggested that the Russian government had directed the recent revelations about the emails of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign in an attempt to influence the election. However, these claims have not been proven.

Moscow has denied its involvement in any hacking scandal, and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange – whose organization released the hacked documents and emails – recently denied any Russian involvement.

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