Russian officials on Saturday had scornful words for a US indictment that was released charging 13 Russians with interfering in the presidential election of 2016. The officials used analogies such as the plot of a preposterous Hollywood movie, children’s statements and “just blabber” to refer to the indictment.
The response from the officials, although dismissive, implied that Russia feels cornered by the insistent and merciless accusations that the Kremlin was involved in compromising the US presidential election in Trump’s favor. Moscow’s strategy has been to maintain the popular expectation that its relations with the White House will grow stronger by repeatedly denying any collusion and hoping that the conspiracy would vanish.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have consistently deflected the notion that the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow. They have also denied the evidence of Russians seeding social media platforms with pro-Trump content blaming it all on the outdated concept of “Russophobia”. Russophobia is a fear, hostility, and prejudice against Russia that developed during the Cold War. It portrays the country as a land of inherently devious plotters. Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the lower house of Russia’s parliament commented that the allegations are like a story from a Hollywood crime comedy.
The indictment was handed up by a federal grand jury. It portrays elements of a very mysterious plot. It claims that a wealthy entrepreneur dubbed as “Putin’s chef” channeled money to a so-called troll farm which sent operatives to the US, created fake social media accounts and with them broadcasted tendentious messages. The purpose for this, as explained in the document, was either to influence voters or to undermine their faith in the United States’ political system.
Putin’s representative for International Information security policy commented that the allegations were just children’s statements. The 37-page indictment although detailed makes assertions without backing them with outright evidence, something Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other Russian officials seized on. Sergey Lavrov said at a Munich security conference that until the facts are made clear, all allegations are “just blabber”. Former Russian ambassador to Washington also said that the allegations being mounted against Russia are simply fantasies being used maliciously by the US for political reasons.
Russia expresses its disappointment that the Washington-Moscow relations have not improved under Trump’s administration despite his promise to do so.
