Russia hits US, denies ‘unjustified accusations’ of interference

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov strongly denied U.S. charges of election interference, slamming the U.S. and its international relations during a speech at the United Nations on Friday.

“Unjustified accusations of interference in the domestic affairs of particular countries are made while simultaneously engaging in an open campaign to undermine and topple democratically elected governments,” he said, according to remarks translated on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website.

{mosads}“We see the desire of a number of Western states to retain their self-proclaimed status as ‘world leaders’ and to slow down the irreversible move toward multipolarity that is objectively taking place,” he continued, in a perceived swipe at Washington and the Trump administration. “To this end, anything goes, up to and including political blackmail, economic pressure and brute force. Such illegal actions devalue international law, which lies at the foundation of the postwar world order.”

Lavrov, according to The Associated Press, later said U.S.-Russia relations “are bad and probably at their all-time low.”

The U.S. intelligence community has repeatedly affirmed its conclusion that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election, including through a complex social media effort to spread disinformation among voters.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that the Trump administration has not been “successful” in improving U.S. relations with Russia’s government due to “malign” activities performed by Russia.

“It’s most unfortunate, because there are places where we have shared interests,” Pompeo said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I worked with them on counterterrorism, there’s a handful of other places around the world where we do have overlapping interests.”

Lavrov on Friday blasted the Trump administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East, particularly its military strikes on Syria following attacks in civilian-populated areas.

Lavrov also defended the 2015 nuclear deal signed between Iran, the U.S. and six other world powers, including the European Union, saying “we will do everything possible” to preserve it. President Trump withdrew U.S. involvement from the deal in May.

The Foreign Minister said Russia is in talks with U.S. national security adviser John Bolton and his Russian counterpart, who are planning a meeting “to roll back and lower” tensions between the two countries.

The relationship between Moscow and Washington has been fraught historically, though tensions have ratcheted up in recent months. The Trump administration sanctioned Moscow in Russia over the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England earlier this year. The administration also expelled dozens of Russian diplomats believed to be operating as intelligence officers in the United States.

Trump, however, has drawn criticism for his apparently friendly rhetoric toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.