Lavrov's Reaction to Indictments Against Russian Citizens in the 'Interference in US Elections' Case

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the US indictments against Russian citizens regarding allegations of interference in the US elections 'nonsense' and stated that he would not respond until Moscow is presented with evidence. According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Lavrov made these remarks on Saturday, February 17, following his speech at the Munich Security Conference. The day before, Washington had indicted several Russian citizens and companies, accusing them of attempting to influence the 2016 US presidential election. Special Counsel Robert Mueller issued these indictments against 13 Russian citizens and three Russian companies, including an internet company frequently referred to as the 'troll factory' in this case. Lavrov said, 'I have no response. Until we see the documents, all of this is just nonsense.' Meanwhile, Herbert McMaster, the US National Security Advisor who spoke after Lavrov, emphasized that the FBI's indictment shows that Russian interference in the US elections is undeniable. General McMaster stated, 'As we move forward, we are uncovering more leads regarding this espionage and sabotage. And as you can see in the FBI's announcement, this evidence is undeniable.' The indictment claims that the accused attempted to undermine the credibility of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate in the 2016 presidential election, by disseminating negative information to advance Donald Trump, the Republican candidate's campaign. However, Donald Trump insists that his campaign had no collusion with the Russians and that Russian interference did not affect the election's outcome. The indictment notes that Russians began interfering in the political process in the US in 2014, when Donald Trump had not yet announced his candidacy for the presidency.