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Lavrov dismisses allegations of cyberattacks on Western countries as 'cooked-up evidence'

Moscow is not going to prove anything on the matter, according to Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

© AP Photo/Alastair Grant

MOSCOW, January 17. /TASS/. The allegations of Russian cyberattacks on Western countries is "cooked-up evidence", Moscow is not going to prove anything on the matter, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during his annual press conference.

"As for the cyber security allegations, I am not going to prove to you that this is not true. The ball is in your court to prove it," Lavrov said, answering a question.

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Kremlin: Russia is not going to groundlessly accuse other countries of cyberattacks

"We have seen attempts at cooking up evidence, from which the US and the UK are now trying to distance themselves, trying to discredit the new US administration" Lavrov said.

The top diplomat noted that Moscow believes international cybersecurity should concern everyone. "Russia has always stood for establishing a sustainable partnership to restore order in the fight against cybercrime," Lavrov stated. According to him, those who refuse to cooperate on universal rules to restore order in cyberspace, "groundlessly accuse Russia of taking control of almost the entire world through their actions.

The foreign minister also said that he had recently read about the creation of a special group within the CIA, made up of representatives from the FBI, the NSA, the US Department of Treasury, the Justice Department, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. This group, according to Lavrov, was to gather evidence of financial ties between US President-elect Donald Trump and Russia. "If the whole team of these respected agencies has dug up only what they have trotted out before the public, then they should obviously be fired, because they are being paid for nothing, they’re not worth a dime for what they’re doing," Lavrov said.

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Sergey Lavrov Russia-US cyber scandal

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