Kremlin: Report of Russia election meddling harms ties

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin on Thursday described a report published by Democratic US lawmakers accusing Russia of election meddling as damaging for bilateral relations, as well as for the United States itself.

Democratic lawmakers accused Russia on Wednesday of a “relentless assault” on democratic institutions worldwide, and called on President Donald Trump to treat election interference as a national crisis.

Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee released a report detailing what they described as nearly two decades of Russian efforts to tilt politics across Europe, criticizing Trump for doing too little to address the issue.

The report was commissioned by Senator Ben Cardin, the committee’s top Democrat, who said on Wednesday that President Vladimir Putin would “push as far as he’s allowed to push, if we don’t push back.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who has repeatedly denied accusations by US intelligence officials and others that Moscow interferes in any foreign elections, said in a conference call with reporters that Russia rejected any accusations of meddling and was dismayed to see such allegations still being made.

“With regards to this [anti-Russian] campaign, all we can do is express our regret and repeat that these accusations remain unfounded,” said Peskov.