Russia’s Foreign Ministry has accused the United States of meddling in next year’s Kremlin race after the State Department condemned election officials for disqualifying Alexei Navalny, a prominent opposition politician who planned to challenge incumbent President Vladimir Putin in 2018.
The Russian Central Election Commission barred Mr. Navalny from running for president this week, prompting the U.S. State Department to issue a statement Tuesday evening expressing concerns with Moscow’s “ongoing crackdown against independent voices, from journalists to civil society activists and opposition politicians.”
“These actions indicate the Russian government has failed to protect space in Russia for the exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” the State Department said in the statement, Business Insider first reported. “More broadly, we urge the government of Russia to hold genuine elections that are transparent, fair and free and that guarantee the free expression of the will of the people, consistent with its international human rights obligations.”
The spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry cited the State Department’s statement in a Facebook post Tuesday evening accusing the U.S. of meddling in next March’s election.
“This State Department statement, which I’m sure will be repeated, is a direct interference in our electoral process and internal affairs,” wrote spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, as translated by The Moscow Times.
Ms. Zakharova also mentioned recent measures requiring certain Russian media outlets to register in the U.S. as foreign agents, accusing the U.S of harassing foreign reporters and “investing huge amounts of money into ’countering Russian propaganda,’ which is how they label anyone who they disagree with,” The Times translated.
“And these people expressed outrage over alleged Russian ’interference’ in their electoral process for an entire year?!” Ms. Zakharova added.
The U.S. intelligence community concluded in January that Mr. Putin authorized an interference campaign targeting the 2016 White House and particularly President Trump’s former rival, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, using tactics including state-sponsored cyberattacks and disseminating disinformation.
Russia has denied meddling in the U.S. election, and its alleged efforts are currently under review by federal investigators in the House, Senate and Department of Justice.
Mr. Navalny, 41, had planned to challenge Mr. Putin next March, but federal election officials disqualified him over an outstanding conviction his supporters have described as politically motivated. He’s since urged would-be voters to boycott the election and participate in nationwide protests scheduled for more than 90 cities next month.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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