WASHINGTON, July 2. /TASS/. The Russian Embassy in Washington rejected the alleged involvement of Russian state structures in cyberattacks on various objects in the United States and beyond, contained in a joint document of US and UK special services published on Thursday.

"We strictly deny the involvement of Russian government agencies in attacks ‘on government and private facilities in the United States and abroad’", the statement said.

According to the statement, "We emphasize that fighting against cybercrime is an inherent priority for Russia and an integral part of its state policy to combat all forms of crime. A wide range of law enforcement instruments is used for its implementation. Given the global nature of cyber threats which recently have increasingly become a challenge to strategic stability, the most effective way to combat them is to ensure active interaction between relevant state agencies of the two countries".

"On September 25, 2020, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin proposed a comprehensive program of measures to restore Russian-American cooperation in the area of international information security. Among other things, it was proposed to maintain continuous and effective channels of communication between the competent authorities of the two countries," the embassy recalled.

The Russian Embassy hopes that "the American side will abandon the practice of unfounded accusations and focus on professional work with Russian experts to strengthen international information security, and in this context, on joint efforts to combat cybercrime. Besides, it's high time to put things in order on the American soil, from where constant attacks on critical infrastructure in Russia emerge".

Earlier on Thursday, the US National Security Agency, the US National Cyber Security Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the UK National Cybersecurity Center published a joint document claiming that Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate "from early 2019 to early 2021" carried out hundreds of cyberattack attempts around the world against government and private targets. The Russian side has repeatedly denied involvement in any malicious activity in cyberspace.