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Accusations of Russia's interference into Argentine affairs "last-year trend" — diplomat

Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia and Argentina are interested in strengthening cooperation in all spheres
Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Sergei Fadeichev/TASS
Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
© Sergei Fadeichev/TASS

MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/. Attempts of several Argentine parliament members to accuse Russia of interfering into the Latin American country's presidential elections is "a last-year trend," Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

"We noted a statement — rather emotional — by one of Argentine parliament members, who made an attempt to accuse Russia of interfering into the internal affairs of the country ahead of the October 27 election by allegedly supporting an opposition presidential candidate," Zakharova said. "This is all outdated, that's what I want to tell certain politicians in Argentina. Those are last-year trends. It is now in fashion to cooperate with Russia. If you haven't understood it yet, consider this a hint," she added.

The Russian Foreign Ministry "noted with satisfaction a healthy reaction to such statements in Argentina, both from government and opposition camps," she noted. "They noted right away how absurd such accusations are. We can only welcome such a level-headed approach," Zakharova stressed.

Russia and Argentina are interested in strengthening cooperation in all spheres, she said. She noted that bilateral cooperation "is valuable in itself and is not directed against anyone in Argentina or elsewhere." "We want to decisively stress that Argentina is Russia's strategic partner and friend," Zakharova continued, adding that "developing constructive ties is in the interest of leading political forces and the general public in Argentina."

The Russian diplomat did not rule out that media reports about alleged Russian interference may indicate that some are not happy with Russian-Argentina strategic cooperation. "It is worthy to note that thos accusations usually cite official sources in Washington," she stressed.

"It is regrettable that playing the Russian card has become an instrument of political technologies. I want to stress once again that such methodology has become obsolte. One should not fall prey to such tricks, especially if they originate from the outside," she concluded.