Key Takeaways
- The US State Department’s claims of Russian involvement in cyberattacks in Europe have been denied by the Russian Ambassador.
- The Ambassador called the claims ‘false propaganda’ and urged the US to provide evidence through official channels.
- The US presidential election may be a factor in the increase of fake propaganda and accusations against Russia.
Moscow: The US State Department’s claims that Russian intelligence services are allegedly involved in cyberattacks in Europe are false propaganda, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said on Saturday, adding that such activity by Washington will only intensify in the run-up to the US presidential election in November.
On Friday, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that the United States joined Germany in pinning the blame for a series of cyberattacks in Europe to the APT28 group, allegedly linked to Russian intelligence services.
“We regard such statements as another example of megaphone diplomacy and evidence of Washington’s irrepressible desire to accuse Russia of all mortal sins. We have repeatedly told the U.S.: if you have any suspicions, then they should be transmitted through official channels with the provision of specific facts and evidence,” Antonov said.
The US authorities have nothing to show in support of their claims, the ambassador added.
“It is obvious that such provocative bogus stories will only intensify as the U.S. presidential election are coming up, as it was the case in previous years,” he said.
US’s actions, including such fake propaganda and refusal to engage in professional dialogue, only compromise international information security, the ambassador added.
