Russia won’t meddle in German election: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov makes a speech at the Foreign Ministry during an event in Berlin on July 13, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has rejected speculations that his country could meddle in the upcoming elections in Germany as it was alleged about votes in the United States and France.

Lavrov said Thursday that claims about Russia’s power to influence election results in other countries were flattering, but dismissed the notion that Moscow would help engineer the results of the upcoming general election in Germany.

"It flatters us that people try to portray us as a country that could decide the fate of the whole world -- the United States, Germany," Lavrov said.

He, however, said that if Russia could so easily influence the elections in other countries, it could have easily manipulated the political situation in countries of the former Soviet Union.

“If that were the case, all the former Soviet republics around us would not have such a position toward Moscow,” Lavrov said, adding, "Maybe there wouldn't have been a Ukrainian crisis or other problems.”

The remarks, made during an address to a think tank in Berlin, came after Germany's domestic security regulator warned last week that after reports about Russia’s alleged manipulation of election results in the US and France, Germany could also fall victim.

Lavrov again dismissed allegations that Russia-sponsored hackers helped undermine the campaign of US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton last year and helped propel President Donald Trump to office. He said those backing the claims have failed to verify them and continue to pursue their “very destructive approach.”

He said that no single concrete fact was presented in America during an eight-month investigation, rejecting allegations of Russian meddling as “leaks and false information.”