Russia will never hurt India’s dignity, a diplomatic source in the Russian Embassy said here on Monday.
The statement was in response to media reports that the government of President Vladimir Putin intended to interfere in the Lok Sabha election in 2019.
“Russia has never interfered in internal politics of other countries as it goes against the fundamental principles of our foreign policy. This blatantly false and unfounded assertion is a phoney attempt to drive a wedge between Russia and her BRICS partners following the success of the recent summit meeting of the group in Johannesburg,” the source said in response to reports.
The Russian statement was prompted by the assertion of a media expert, Philip N. Howard, that Russia was planning to interfere in Brazilian and Indian election processes using social media platforms.
According to news reports, Professor Howard made his observations at the Senate Intelligence Committee on Foreign Influence on Social Media Platforms.
The diplomatic source said that ties with India were important for Moscow and such interference was against Moscow’s principles.
“It has become common knowledge that Russia enjoys camaraderie with India and will never do anything that goes against the interests and dignity of the friendly India nation,” the official said.
