RTSun, 12 Sep 2021 15:23 UTC
© Alexander Zemlianichenko, REUTERSRussian President Vladimir Putin and US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan
Moscow has "irrefutable evidence" of American tech giants breaking Russian law, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, on Friday, as it
summoned the US Ambassador, John Sullivan, to tell him it won't tolerate election interference.The ministry informed the diplomat that Moscow considers any interference in Russia's internal affairs to be "absolutely unacceptable." Officials added that they
they had "irrefutable" evidence that the American tech corporations have broken Russian laws in the lead-up to the parliamentary elections scheduled for next week.
The US envoy spent around 20 minutes with his Russian counterparts following the summons and left the building without answering any questions from journalists. America's diplomatic mission later told RIA Novosti that the brief visit was
supposedly aimed at discussing plans for "stable" relations with Russia under President Joe Biden.The US interpretation of the developments was promptly criticized by the Russian Foreign Ministry. Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, said that
meddling in the Russian elections was "the only reason" for the summons. She also expressed her hope that the US diplomats would relay the genuine information discussed to Washington, while also calling their statement on the issue "detached from reality."
Moscow has repeatedly accused Washington of attempting to influence Russia's internal politics through election meddling.
In July, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that Russia witnessed "nearly daily" efforts "to influence our domestic and foreign policy" and added that the US would like to see the country weak and "ready for any concessions."
Earlier on Friday, Russia's digital watchdog,
Roskomnadzor, issued a warning to four American companies, including Apple and Google. The companies are accused of
allowing users to access sites banned in Russia, including the "Smart Voting" website set up by supporters of jailed opposition figure Alexey Navalny.Navalny's operation was branded a 'foreign agent' by Russia's Ministry of Justice
over links to foreign funding, and his organizations were later deemed 'extremist' and banned by a court in Moscow.
Comment: Pressure mounts against Western tech giants to
both desist and assist in Russia's election:
© APNavalny App
In the run-up to the September 17-19 national legislative elections, Russia has purged the field of almost all genuine opposition politicians and implemented multiple legal amendments that critics say could facilitate fraud.
And the battle against dissent has also been raging online.
In recent months, Russia has ratcheted up its campaign to rein in Western tech giants, stopping short of blocking the platforms outright but issuing hefty fines against Google, Facebook, and Twitter and demanding that they remove content the government has deemed offensive, dangerous, or lewd.
On September 9, the state-run news agency RAPSI reported that the Moscow prosecutor's office had sent a letter to the chief operating officers of Apple and Google, Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai, with demands that their companies block a smartphone app run by the team of jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.
According to RAPSI, the state views the app as technology funded from abroad and not by Russian taxpayers, and in turn as a violation of Russian electoral law. "This testifies to Apple's violation of Russian electoral law and illegal foreign meddling in the internal affairs of the country and its influence on the exercise of free will by Russian citizens." The app in question, which is simply called Navalny, is a key element in an electoral strategy that the Kremlin critic's aides call Smart Voting.
It's part of an effort by Russia to enforce complete compliance with restrictive Russian laws by major tech companies, including Western tech giants and Russian ones like Yandex, which reportedly also received the letter from the prosecutor.
In a parallel development on September 9, Interfax reported that Russia's communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, demanded that Apple, Google, and U.S. telecommunications and software companies Cloudflare and Cisco work to enforce Russia's blockage of the Smart Voting website -- and limit users' ability to circumvent the tools the state uses to prevent access.
Comment: Pressure mounts against Western tech giants to both desist and assist in Russia's election: