© Daniel Becerril / ReutersJose Antonio Meade, presidential pre-candidate, Mexico
Russia's ambassador to Mexico has denied allegations that his country is attempting to interfere in the Mexican presidential elections as "foolish."
U.S. National Security Advisor Herbert McMaster accused Russia last month of launching a "sophisticated effort" to sow divisions ahead of Mexico's presidential election next July. The U.S. intelligence community has previously accused Russia of interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.
"This is foolish, someone needs to keep this subject afloat, that's why they're trying to promote it," Russia's Ambassador to Mexico Eduard Malayan told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.
In an interview published early Tuesday, Malayan maintained that Moscow "has absolutely no intentions or even a reason" to meddle in Mexican affairs.
His comments came a day after Russia's Foreign Ministry denounced CIA chief Mike Pompeo for "lying" that the Kremlin had been trying to interfere in the U.S. elections for decades.
"They'd better think about their own actions in this country [Mexico]," Malayan advised the U.S.
Comment: The allegation that Russia may be trying to meddle in Mexican elections is absurd to the point of being comical. First, do Mexicans think they are so important geopolitically speaking that Russia would want to interfere in their elections? How would Russia benefit from that? Second, Mexico has historically done quite well in 'meddling' with its own elections without the help of any foreign nations - apart perhaps from the US. Fraud and vote-rigging are almost a given in Mexico, and there are already indications that the next presidential election this year will not be any different. If any scandal comes up in the context of the electoral process, are they planning to blame it on Russia already??