NEW YORK, July 17. /TASS/. The US State Department is imposing restrictions on its public assessments of foreign elections, giving up a practice that has been used for decades to promote democratic standards, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing the agency’s internal directive.
According to a memorandum signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the US will stop publicly commenting on foreign elections unless "there is a clear and compelling US foreign policy interest to do so."
The instruction said the decision is linked to the Trump administration's emphasis on the principle of national sovereignty. The State Department's statements on election results should be limited to congratulating the winner and should avoid any judgments about the voting process, it said.
The newspaper mentioned that Trump previously announced that the US would refrain from imposing governance models on other countries, describing the previous policy as disastrous interference.