The United States on rejected accusations by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that Washington was behind the post-poll protests in Moscow.
At a regular press briefing on Thursday, Dec 8, State Department spokesman Mark Toner dismissed Putin's claims that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had sent a "signal" to spark the protests with her remarks criticizing the conduct of the parliamentary elections without studying reports by international monitors.
"In terms of signaling, we've stood up, as we have elsewhere in the world, and continue to stand for the right for people to peacefully express their views and their democratic aspirations. We're going to continue to do so. There's no signaling involved," Toner said.
He also dismissed Putin's allegations about Washington encouraging Opposition protesters in Russia.
The developments come after Clinton expressed "serious concerns" about Sunday's Russian parliamentary elections. Alleging that the polls were "neither free nor fair," she said the Russian voters deserved a "full investigation" into "all credible reports of electoral fraud and manipulation."
Putin responded to Clinton's remarks by blaming the United States for instigating protests against his 12-year-old rule and the outcome of the country's parliamentary elections that the Opposition and the international community termed as fraudulent.
Putin said Clinton had "set the tone for some Opposition activists, gave them a signal, they heard this signal and started active work." He noted that Clinton "was quick to evaluate the elections, saying that they are unfair and not free, even before she received materials from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights observers," RTT News reported.
