DOHA (Sputnik) – German intelligence provided no facts of Russia’s alleged interference in the electoral campaign in Germany, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday.
"Maybe they want to prove their effectiveness, but they cannot provide a single fact. Speaking of facts, it is well known that some time ago it was revealed that the US security services were wiretapping the German chancellor. I do not recall the German counterintelligence saying anything about this established fact," Lavrov told a press conference.
The rhetoric concerning Moscow's alleged interference in the German, as well as the US election campaigns, met strong opposition from the Russian side. Russia has repeatedly and vehemently denied interfering in the vote, insisting that it does not meddle in the internal affairs of other countries.
The US Congress is currently investigating Russia's alleged meddling in last year's US presidential election, as a number of media outlets, citing their sources, regularly accuse Moscow of interfering in the election process.
In November 2016, Merkel said she did not rule out the possibility of Russian hackers interfering in Germany's federal election. In January, German media reported that the BND had suspicions that Russia could try and influence the outcome of the elections taking place across Europe this year. However, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel stressed during his visit to Moscow in March of this year that Berlin had no proof or indication of Russia trying to meddle in its election process.
In 2013, Berlin was appalled by disclosures of classified US documents by Edward Snowden that revealed the scope of the US National Security Agency's surveillance. Two years later is was discovered that German foreign intelligence agency BND had helped US spies. Merkel, whose mobile phone was allegedly being wiretapped, famously remarked that spying among friends was unacceptable.
