MOSCOW, May 24. /TASS/. Colombia's ambassador in Moscow Alfonso Lopez Caballero has been summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry over groundless statements by Colombia's Defense Minister Diego Molano that Russia was responsible for cyberattacks.

"On May 24, Colombia's ambassador to Russia Alfonoso Lopez Caballero was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Surprise was expressed to him over groundless and utterly unfounded statements by Colombia's Defense Minister Diego Molano over "cyberattacks carried out from Russia." Molano made the statement in the context of alleged foreign intervention aimed at instigating internal political instability and mass protests in Colombia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Russia has more than once invited Colombia to enter into a dialogue in the field of international cybersecurity and it remains prepared for such cooperation, the Foreign Ministry said.

"If the Colombian side has confirmed evidence of cyberattacks and is genuinely interested in establishing their origin, there exist official channels of information exchanges and the corresponding infrastructure for this," the statement runs. "Russia's agency in charge is the National Center for Computer Incidents. At a certain point, the Russian agencies concerned presented a draft treaty on legal assistance, but the Colombian side refused to discuss it. Once again we are calling upon our partners to respond to our calls so as to avoid misunderstanding in the future."

Russia confirms its readies to cooperate with the Colombian counterparts on the whole range of issues for the sake of maintaining relations "in the spirit of friendship and mutual respect that have historically linked Russia and Colombia."

Earlier, Molano told the dailies El Mundo and El Tiempo Russia was behind protests in Colombia. The country has seen demonstrations against the tax reform since April 28. Unrest occurred in Bogota, Cali, Medellin and other cities. More than 1,900 people were hurt and no less than 42 others killed. The government eventually agreed to revise the reform plans. The minister of finance resigned, but the protests continued.