Trump strategy document says Russia meddles in domestic affairs worldwide

Trump strategy document says Russia meddles in domestic affairs worldwide
# 19 December 2017 00:02 (UTC +04:00)

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration said on Monday that Russia interferes in the domestic political affairs of countries globally, but stopped short of accusing Moscow of meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, APA reports quoting Reuters.

The criticism of Russia, laid out in a new national security strategy based on Trump’s “America First” vision, reflects a view long held by U.S. diplomats that Russia actively undermines American interests at home and abroad, despite Trump’s own bid for warmer ties with President Vladimir Putin.

“Through modernized forms of subversive tactics, Russia interferes in the domestic political affairs of countries around the world,” said the document.

It avoided directly citing what U.S. intelligence agencies say was Russian meddling in last year’s U.S. presidential election.

“Russia uses information operations as part of its offensive cyber efforts to influence public opinion across the globe. Its influence campaigns blend covert intelligence operations and false online personas with state-funded media, third-party intermediaries, and paid social media users or ‘trolls,'” the document said.

Trump has frequently spoken of wanting to improve relations with Putin, even though Russia has frustrated U.S. policy in Syria and Ukraine and done little to help Washington in its standoff with North Korea.

In a speech laying out his strategy, Trump noted that he received a call from Putin on Sunday to thank him for providing U.S. intelligence that helped thwart a bomb attack in the Russian city of St. Petersburg.

Trump said the collaboration was “the way it’s supposed to work.”

“But while we seek such opportunities of cooperation, we will stand up for ourselves and we will stand up for our country like we have never stood up before,” he said at the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington.

#
#

THE OPERATION IS BEING PERFORMED