MOSCOW, July 21. /TASS/. The newly-issued report of the UK Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament on alleged Russia’s interference is yet another example of Russophobia and ungrounded accusations and can be seen as another step towards wrecking bilateral relations, a senior Russian lawmaker said on Tuesday.
"The report of the UK Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament and commentaries to it present a vivid example of Russophobia, ungrounded accusations and blatant anti-Russian propaganda," Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the international committee of Russia’s State Duma lower parliament house, told journalists.
Allegations about Russia’s interference into political processes in the United Kingdom "are obviously geared to once again publicly label Russia as a threat and a new challenge" and demand more money to contain Russia for that reason.
According to the Russian lawmaker, the report’s authors are seeking to "place Russia on the axis of evil" and accuse it of paranoid assessments. "It is not us who suffer from paranoia, it is rather the diagnosis of those who invent myths of aggressive Russia," he said. "Obviously, publication of such reports is yet another step towards ruining bilateral relations that are living through a not very good period even without that. We cannot accept either the conclusions or the ungrounded claims of the British side."
As follows from the so-called Russia Report of the UK Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament that was released on Tuesday, British lawmakers don’t think that any improvement in relations between London and Moscow is possible under the current Russian leadership. The report in particular claims that Russia "carries out malicious cyber activity" and employs "organised crime groups to supplement its cyber skills." The report also claims that Russia tried to influence the 2014 referendum on Scotland’s independence.