Lavrov: 'Not one piece of evidence' Russia interfered in US elections

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday said there was no evidence the country had interfered in the 2016 US presidential election, after a Washington probe accelerated with charges brought against three former aides from Donald Trump's campaign team.

"We are accused of interfering not only in US elections but also in those of other countries without one piece of evidence," Lavrov told reporters in Moscow.

Russia has repeatedly denied any attempt to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov gestures during a meeting with his Surinamese counterpart Yldiz Pollack-Beighle in Moscow, Russia October 31, 2017.

On Monday Trump's ex-campaign chairman Paul Manafort and another former aide appeared in court, pleading not guilty to conspiracy against the US, money laundering and several other charges after the indictments in the Russia probe were unsealed.

Facebook, Google and Twitter are expected to tell Congress this week that Russian-backed content aimed at manipulating US politics during last year's election was more extensive than first thought, US media reported.

At a meeting of the Association of European Businesses, Lavrov also said that the "sometimes unpredictable" actions of the current US administration had caused "serious fears".

He pointed to threats to solve problems on the Korean Peninsula by force, as well as Trump's refusal to certify the Iran nuclear deal.

(AFP)