Moscow says U.S. trying to interfere in Russian election: RIA

Reuters
Russian President Putin delivers a speech during a rally to support his bid in the upcoming presidential election, at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a rally to support his bid in the upcoming presidential election, at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia March 3, 2018. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS (Reuters)

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Monday that Moscow had evidence that the United States was trying to interfere in the Russian presidential election, the RIA news agency quoted him as saying. Russia holds a presidential election on March 18, which polls show incumbent Vladimir Putin should comfortably win. The Interfax news agency cited Ryabkov as saying that the United States was trying to sow chaos in Russia and that U.S. sanctions were aimed at destabilizing Russia. U.S. intelligence agencies accuse Moscow of interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, something Russia denies. Moscow has been hit with new U.S. sanctions as a result. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Writing by Maria Tsvetkova; Editing by Andrew Osborn)