The American Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr warned Russia is ”actively involved” in the upcoming French and German elections, Politico.eu reported Thursday citing AFP.
”What … was a very covert effort [to interfere] in 2016 in the United States, is a very overt effort, as well as covert, in Germany and France,” he told a press conference Wednesday, according to Politico.eu.
”The Russians are actively involved in the French elections.”
Burr said Russian methods of interference had ”already been tried in Montenegro and the Netherlands.”
See also: Russia will try to influence the European elections – the U.S. Vice President
Montenegro suffered a series of coordinated cyberattacks during its election in October and again in February. Fears of interference in the Dutch election this month compelled the government to issue paper ballots.
The U.S. ”feel part of our responsibility is to educate the rest of the world about what`s going on,” Burr said, because Moscow was launching ”character assassination of candidates”
French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen met Russian President Vladimir Putin — with whom she is close — last week in Moscow, where Putin told her: ”We do not want to influence events in any way, but we retain the right to meet with all the different political forces, just like our European and American partners do.”
See also: “When Russia hack U.S. election it’s an act of war” – McCain in Kyiv
