Russia has recalled its ambassador to the United States for consultations over allegations of interference in the US presidential election. Intelligence agencies in the US wrote in a report released today that Russian President Putin has personally authorized the defamation of then-presidential candidate Biden.
In an interview with news channel ABC Biden said Putin will “pay a price” for this supposed interference. He did not indicate what counter reaction the US will come up with. “You will see that soon,” said the president. Despite this, Biden states that he and Putin understand each other well and have a long history together.
Biden says he raised the issue in a telephone conversation with the Russian president.
New sanctions
The Kremlin has ruled all charges unfounded and unfounded. Putin’s press secretary Dimitri Peskov says Washington helped the claims out into the world to impose new sanctions on Russia.
Moscow emphasizes that it does not want a conflict with the US. The recall of the ambassador to the US would be for a general consultation on relations with Washington, the State Department writes in a statement. “The symbolic 100-day presidency milestone is approaching, so it is good to discuss how to restore ties.”
Fake news, not cyber attacks
According to the American intelligence services, the Russians tried to spread fake news and misleading messages about Biden through intermediaries. It was intended that the campaign team of then President Trump and American media would take over these reports.
The intelligence report states that no evidence has been found that Russian services attempted to influence the elections with cyber attacks on voting computers, as demonstrated in the 2016 campaign.
Meanwhile, Iran also carried out an influence campaign, but precisely with the intention of shaking Trump’s position, the services write. Democratic voters, for example, were sent threats that appeared to come from far-right groups like the Proud Boys, which are affiliated with Trump. With this, the Iranians wanted to divide the US.
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