Jump to content








Kremlin calls U.S. sanctions move attempt to influence Russian elections


webfact

Recommended Posts

Kremlin calls U.S. sanctions move attempt to influence Russian elections

 

2018-01-29T100558Z_1_LYNXMPEE0S0MM_RTROPTP_4_RUSSIA-ELECTION-PUTIN.JPG

Men walk past a board, which advertises the campaign of Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the upcoming presidential election, in a street in Tula, south of Moscow, Russia January 26, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

 

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that a new U.S. sanctions report expected to be released imminently was an attempt to influence Russia's presidential election in March, but predicted it would fail to impact the vote.

 

The United States could release reports as early as Monday detailing the possibilities for expanding sanctions against Russia, including a list of oligarchs and potential restrictions on the holding of Russian government debt.

 

Moscow and Washington remain at odds over U.S. allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, something Russia denies, as well as over conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.

 

It is not clear whether the U.S. reports will definitely trigger new sanctions, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that Russia regarded them as an unfriendly attempt to sway the March presidential election.

 

"We do think this is a direct and obvious attempt timed to coincide with the elections in order to influence them," said Peskov. "We do not agree with this and are convinced that there will be no influence."

 

Russia holds a presidential election on March 18, which opinion polls show incumbent Vladimir Putin should easily win.

 

"The publication of this list on its own doesn’t mean anything," said Peskov. "It isn’t the start of a new sanctions wave. So we will have to analyse what will happen next."

 

(Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Writing by Andrew Osborn and Polina Ivanova; Editing by Gareth Jones)

 
reuters_logo.jpg
-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-01-30
Link to comment
Share on other sites


Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...