Russian PM says impossible to exert impact on elections in US
"I think it’s simply impossible to affect the results of elections in the US, you know," Dmitry Medvedev said
TEL AVIV, November 3. /TASS/. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has told an Israeli TV channel it is impossible to wield impact on the results of US presidential election from the outside.
Moscow treats accusations of this kind addressed to it calmly but believes they are a manifestation of double standards, he said.
Israel’s Channel 2 aired a trailer of the interview where Medvedev commented on the accusations of involvement in the attempts to help Donald Trump with the aid of hacker attacks and publication of smear materials on Hillary Clinton.
"We’re treating them calmly, quite calmly," he said. "The problem it’s somewhat strange. Why? Let’s say frankly the US has a very powerful political machinery and it interferes intensely in the political processes on all continents."
"The Americans find this to be absolutely normal and admissible," Medvedev went on. "They think they have the right to do a lot of thing while other countries shouldn’t do anything in that respect."
"I think it’s simply impossible to affect the results of elections in the US, you know," he said. "I think Vladimir Putin was right when he said a few days ago ‘Is America a banana republic of some sort so that someone could put pressure on it and say, well, Mr. this and that will be President there?’," he said.
When a reporter asked him if his words meant Wikileaks was not getting data from the players sponsored by Russia, Medvedev answered he was unaware of the motives of the people who were publishing these materials.
"It may be one sort of motives today and another sort tomorrow," he said. "The world has become so transparent that no one will be able to hide away fully and everyone using electronic communication instruments should understand the fact clearly. That’s how it is."
Medvedev gave the interview in the run-up to next week’s visit to Israel. The channel said it would put the full version on air in the coming few days.