MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/. Controversy between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Office of the US Director of National Intelligence regarding the alleged interference by Russia-linked hackers in the US presidential election looks like the usual struggle for spheres of influence, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, wrote on her Facebook page.

"This hacking story looks more like a trivial squabble between the US intelligence agencies fighting for spheres of influence, " she noted.

The Washington Post earlier reported that the CIA had "concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election" in the US.

These "individuals with connections to the Russian government" allegedly provided WikiLeaks with thousands of E-mails obtained by hacking the servers of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign chairman, John Podesta. Reuters later reported citing its own sources that the Office of Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, "has not embraced" the CIA assessment.