Russia Accuses US of Election Meddling

Russia suggests that an expected US report that could sanction Kremlin-linked oligarchs is an attempt to influence its March presidential election.

The treasury department report is expected to detail the closeness of senior Russian political figures and oligarchs to President Vladimir Putin, who is standing for re-election.

US officials accuse Russia of meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections.

Russia has repeatedly denied the allegations.

President Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the forthcoming report would be analyzed.

During 2017, President Donald Trump enacted new sanctions on Russia but he accused Congress of overreaching itself and preventing him from easing penalties on Russia in the future.

President Trump has repeatedly rejected any allegations that his campaign staff colluded with Russia to help him defeat Democratic rival Hillary Clinton at the November 2016 presidential election.

The allegations voiced by the US intelligence community are currently being investigated by Congress and Robert Mueller.

Dmitry Peskov said the US report was a “direct and obvious attempt to influence the elections” on March 18.

However, the spokesman added that he was sure the list would not affect the vote.

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The Kremlin has pledged to help limit further damage to Russian oligarchs and businesses that could be on the list.

In 2018, President Vladimir Putin reportedly met top businessmen behind closed doors to discuss the issue.

Vladimir Putin is seen as the clear favorite to win the March elections.

His main opposition rival, Alexei Navalny, has been barred from standing in the race.

Alexei Navalny was briefly detained during a protest rally on January 28.

The US treasury department has to finalize the document on January 29, after which it is expected to hand the report over to Congress.

It is not known whether the names of those on the list will be publicly revealed or kept secret or indeed how many people and entities are on the list.

Being on the list does not automatically trigger sanctions but such penalties could be activated any time later by the United States.

Diane A. Wade

Diane is a perfectionist. She enjoys searching the internet for the hottest events from around the world and writing an article about it. The details matter to her, so she makes sure the information is easy to read and understand. She likes traveling and history, especially ancient history. Being a very sociable person she has a blast having barbeque with family and friends.