MOSCOW, November 6. /TASS/. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev strongly objects to the claims that Moscow can in one way or another affect the outcome of the election race in the U.S. He said it in an interview with Israel’s Channel 2.
Along it, Medvedev believes it does not matter really much who will become the next president of the U.S.
"I don’t think it’s possible at all to affect the outcome of the U.S. election because that outcome is determined by the people of the United States of America," he said. "That’s a very big country, a very powerful one, and a key actor. No other country is able to affect these results."
Medvedev recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an answer to a similar question fairly recently that it was impossible to wield impact on the U.S. electoral process because the latter country was not a banana republic.
"More than that, we understand only too well regardless of who becomes president of the U.S. (…) he or she will proceed from the national interests of the U.S. and those interests won’t always be the same as ours because they have interests of the own, while we have our interests," he said.
Medvedev gave the assurances of Moscow’s readiness for establishing normal and fruitful relations with any U.S. President. "We’re interested in it," he said.
"By and large, it doesn’t matter for us who will be president (in the U.S.)," Medvedev said. "That’s not because it’s not our choice but because any president will care for the American interests in the first place and any other option is simply impossible to imagine."
"There’s a definite mainstream any U.S. Administration is placed within, no matter whether that Administration Republican or Democratic," he went on. "In why or another, all of them cling to close positions on the main set of foreign policy priorities even though the latter priorities may change."
He refused to give any characteristics to the candidates for U.S. presidency.
"I know Mrs. Clinton personally because she came to Russia when she was Secretary of State and I was President and she and I had meetings, but as for Mr. Trump, I’m not acquainted with him," Medvedev said.
"Yet I’d like to stress once again our readiness to build normal and fruitful relations with the next U.S. Administration on the basis of the principles of international law and a model of equitable relations between Russia and the U.S. whoever become President of the U.S.," he said.
"We proceed from the construction of a multipolar world and from the responsibilities that the U.S. and Russia have to the entire planet as permanent members of the UN Security Council and the biggest nuclear powers," he said, adding that everything would certainly depend on the position the next U.S. Administration was going to take.
According to Medvedev, the Russian authorities were treating calmly the charges with interference in the U.S. election race.
"Quite calmly," he said but noted what he called ‘somewhat bizarre’ nature of the accusations addressed to Russia.
"Let’s put it frankly, the U.S. has a very powerful political machine that meddles actively with the political processes on all continents and the Americans believe this meddling (with the politics in other countries) is absolutely normal and admissible,’ Medvedev said.
"U.S. nongovernmental organizations and ambassadorial workers show intensive activity in all parts of the world," he said. "In Russia, too. They obviously believe that what’s permissible for Jove isn’t permissible for an ox, which means they have the right to do much while other countries can’t do anything in this sense."
"Moscow is somewhat surprised by the significance that is attached to the foreign policy factor now," Medvedev said. "It’d make much more sense (for the Americans - TASS) now to concentrate on the solution of internal tasks the American economy, social sphere, and healthcare are faced with, not search for enemies in Russia or any other countries."
"It’s a rather primitive way of acting when someone attains objective by peddling conspiracy theories or the presence of enemies and saying, well, look at what’s happening, we must rebuff it," he said.
"Most typically, this produces a fly-by-night effect," Medvedev warned.