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Peskov drops ironic comment on Johnson’s remark about Russian role in UK politics

It is expected that Boris Johnson will pay a visit to Moscow within weeks
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnso EPA/ANDY RAIN
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnso
© EPA/ANDY RAIN

MOSCOW, March 13. /TASS/. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has dropped an ironic comment in response to British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s claims that although there is no proof of Russia’s involvement in hackers’ attacks against other countries’ bodies of power Moscow was allegedly capable of intervening in the democratic process and use "all sorts of dirty tricks."

"The statement speaks clearly for itself," Peskov said. "Since Britain will now have a special minister responsible for counter measures, if this is not a joke, of course, he will apparently have some work to do."

Earlier, British Prime Minister Theresa May appointed a special minister to combat subversive activities with the aim to ward off cyber-attacks, should any occur during the forthcoming elections. The Times says the special minster, Ben Gummer, will be responsible for protecting "the integrity of UK democratic life." British politicians, The Times says, suspect that Russia may intervene in Britain’s elections. Also they fear fake news that may "destabilize democracy."

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on March 12 said, "'We have no evidence that the Russians are actually involved in trying to undermine our democratic process at the moment."

It is expected that Johnson will pay a visit to Moscow within weeks at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. The talks will be devoted to Russian-British relations and a number of current international issues, the Foreign Office said earlier.