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21:48 GMT
WASHINGTON, Dec 10 (KUNA) -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that he told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that interference in US domestic affairs is "unacceptable."
"I was clear, it's unacceptable and I made our expectation of Russia clear," Pompeo said during a joint press conference with Lavrov who is now on a visit to Washington.
"The Trump administration will always work to protect the integrity of our elections," he noted, stressing that the US would not tolerate meddling in the elections.
"Should Russia or any foreign actor take steps to undermine our democratic processes, we will take action in response," he warned.
For his part, Lavrov said, "We have highlighted once again that all speculations about our alleged interference in domestic processes in the United States are baseless."
"There are no facts that would support that. We did not see these facts. No one has given us this proof because it simply does not exist," he added.
He affirmed "We understand that our joint work was hindered, and it continues to be hindered by the wave of suspicions that has overcome Washington."
"We suggested to our colleagues that in order to dispel all suspicions that are baseless, let us publish this closed channel correspondence starting from October 2016 until November 2017 so it would all become very clear to many people," he noted.
"However, regrettably, this administration refused to do so. I'd like to repeat once again we are prepared to do that," he affirmed.
For his part, Pompeo responded by saying, "We think we've shared plenty of facts to show what happened in the 2016 election with our Russian counterparts."
"We don't think there's any mistake about what really transpired there," he stressed. (end)
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