WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Berlin has no proof of Russia's interference in the upcoming German parliamentary election, the country's Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told Sputnik on Thursday.
"We have no indication on Russian meddling in German elections," Gabriel said.
Media reports about Russia's interference in elections of foreign states were spurred on by the US 2016 presidential election, with the outgoing administration and the US intelligence community claiming, albeit without proof, that Russia meddled in the November vote.
In January 2017, German media, including the Spiegel magazine and Suddeutsche Zeitung, reported that the German foreign intelligence agency, the BND, and the home security service suspected Russia might try to influence the outcome of 2017 elections across Europe. When asked about the issue by Sputnik, the BND's press service refused to comment on the reports.
In March, during his visit to Mscow, Gabriel stressed that Berlin was not accusing Russia of any attempts to interfere with the general election scheduled for September 24.
Russian officials have repeatedly denied meddling in any foreign state's internal affairs, particularly elections.
