Russia's Lavrov says allegations of meddling in US election are 'fantasies'

After Trump campaign officials were charged on Monday, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov have denied accusations of interference.

Reuters

Allegations of Russian meddling in elections in the United States and Europe are "fantasies", the news agency Interfax cited Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Tuesday.

Federal investigators probing alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US election charged President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort and another aide, Rick Gates, with money laundering on Monday.

US intelligence agencies concluded in January that Russia interfered in the election to try to help Trump defeat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The campaign was conducted through hacking and the release of embarrassing emails as well as a barrage of social media propaganda to discredit her campaign.

But the Kremlin said on Tuesday it had noted that US charges against the two aides did not point the finger at Russia over alleged meddling in US politics.

"Without a single piece of proof, we are as you know being accused of meddling not only in the US election, but also in those in European states," the  state agency quoted Russia's foreign minister as telling a briefing at the Association of European Businesses in Russia.

"Recently, there was an allegation that Moscow decided what minister to appoint in South Africa. In general, there is no limit to fantasy," Lavrov said.

Despite the charges being brought as part of a five-month-old investigation into alleged Russian efforts to tilt the election in Trump's favour and into potential collusion by Trump aides, the charges, some going back over a decade, centred on Manafort's work for Ukraine's former government, not Russia's.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow noted the absence of allegations against Russia in the indictment, saying Moscow had always maintained it had never meddled in the US election.

"... Russia does not feature in the charges that were levelled in any way. Other countries and other people feature [in the charges]," Peskov told a conference call with reporters.

Peskov said the investigation was an internal matter for the United States which Russia was not involved in, but was following with interest from afar.

He also commented on details of a case against a third former Trump adviser, George Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty in early October to lying to the FBI.

When asked what the Kremlin made of the details about someone linked to the Russian Foreign Ministry being cited in the Papadopoulos case, Peskov said the accusation was totally unsubstantiated.

"It's an absolutely laughable allegation," Peskov said.

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