MOSCOW, February 8. /TASS/. Russia will firmly suppress any Western attempts to interfere in the upcoming presidential election, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a meeting of the Federation Council's Interim Commission for the Protection of State Sovereignty and Prevention of Interference in Russia’s Internal Affairs.

"In our communication, we inform our foes and opponents that we will firmly and decisively suppress any attempts to interfere in Russia's internal affairs, including any subversive activities amid the election designed to create division among our citizens, which have already been made by Western NGOs (non-governmental organizations - TASS)," the diplomat said.

Zakharova emphasized that the Russian Foreign Ministry is taking active steps to "prevent Western influence on Russia's domestic political processes." "We are preventing the unfriendly NATO countries' embassies from illegitimate, illegal channels of influence on the Russian audience through humanitarian and educational channels that do not comply with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," she said.

According to the diplomat, Russia's opponents are being deprived of "any opportunity to hold public events in Russian cities and regions, which they previously used to shift public opinion against Russia."