Russian officials react to US cyber attack

Russian officials commented on accusations, voiced by the US Department of Homeland Security and the National Intelligence Agency, that Russia carried out cyber attacks on political organizations and public figures of the country, pointing out that these statements are made only as part of the election race in the United States and have no reasonable grounds.

"This whipping up of emotions regarding 'Russian hackers' is used in the U.S. election campaign, and the current U.S. administration, taking part in this fight, is not averse to using dirty tricks," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Saturday in comments on the ministry's website.

"There is no proof whatsoever for such grave accusations. (They are) ...fabricated by those who are now serving an obvious political order in Washington, continuing to whip up unprecedented anti-Russian hysteria," Reuters quoted him as saying.

The head of the State Duma committee on international affairs Leonid Slutsky has characterized Washington's statements as a slander, which already become a normal thing for the US government.

"We can see this is just a slander, fabrication and an instrument of deformation of Russia' image in the world," he said.

The first deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, Franz Klintsevich, in turn, noted that these statements of the US leadership on Russian cyber attacks during the election campaign should be seen as a part of the information war.

"And the accusations against us are not only groundless, but also completely absurd," he stressed.