Allegations of Russian meddling in elections dismissed once again

The allegations over a possible interference by Russia in Mexico's General Election were promptly dismissed by His Excellency Eduard Rubénovich Malayán , Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Mexico when he was inquired on the unbridled controversy that has been going on for some months now in the Mexican press in an interview with EL UNIVERSAL .

“In the Russian media outlets, there has not been any statement about the Mexican Presidential election. We are worried about other problems. The Russian Presidential election is the most relevant issue now. Russia has no interference whatsoever in Mexico's internal affairs nor in other countries,” assured Mr. Malayán.

These speculations come after a discourse of alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. election, in the affairs of France, Germany, in Brexit, and even in Catalonia's independence. Hence, Mr. Malayán agrees with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov who said that the sources of the misinformation were in the United States during a press conference with Mexico’s Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray in Moscow on November .

Still, the speculations have been on the rise once again as Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador , leftist frontrunner for Mexico’s presidential election, claimed on January that his campaign may have Russian backing, joking that he would henceforth be known as “ Andrés Manuelovich ” on a video.

“There is no evidence and it will not be found because it does not exist,” said Mr. Malayán while emphasizing that the ongoing unfounded and untended assertions are intended to damage Russia-Mexico relations, which “have been particularly solid in different areas as political dialogue is developing and economic cooperation is expanding.

“There are new paths of cultural cooperation , and many Mexicans study in Russia while in Mexico there is an increasing interest in Russian culture,” said Mr. Malayán.

Regarding the bilateral relation , Mr. Malayán stressed that Russia and Mexico share a steady and positive relation highlighting the cooperation of both countries in international forums such as the G20 summit and the APEC summit in which the countries “have agreed on the importance of strengthening the leading role of the United Nations, international affairs, international law, and several background issues.”

Mr. Malayán disclosed that Russia is keenly eyeing Mexico as a relevant agricultural trading partner since there is a potential revival in Mexican trade exports to Russia.

“ Mexican tortillas are sold with great success in Karavay ,” in the region of Novgorod in Russia, Mr. Malayán pointed out.

“Mexico is much more multifaceted than it is sometimes depicted”

It should be noted that a series of Mexican companies have been investing in the Russian market for quite some time, such as Gruma , the largest producer of wheat flour in Mexico, Mabe , a company which designs, produces, and distributes house appliances, and Cemex , a multinational building materials company, among others.

Mr. Malayán also mentioned that Russia is seeking to establish a joint-venture with Mexico to produce aircraft spare parts and even training aircraft .

“This is a mere attempt to undermine the good relations we have with Mexico , but with other countries in Latin America as well,” said Mr. Malayán adding that Russians assume “Mexican people are well-informed and it is just an internal political struggle .”

Thus, Mr. Malayán envisions steady and positive relations between both countries regardless the results of the upcoming poll as Russia has maintained good diplomatic relations with different Mexican Governments within the political spectrum throughout 130 years.

Excerpt from interview of EL UNIVERSAL with His Excellency Eduard Rubénovich Malayán, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Mexico.

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