AFP, Washington :
Russia is welcome to send observers to the US presidential election, even if their requests smack of a propaganda stunt, the State Department said Friday.
Moscow has been accused of trying to undermine the race through cyber attacks against US political targets, and its observers complain they were refused accreditation.
But State Department spokesman John Kirby said there is no policy to refuse Russian observers.
He noted that Russian officials were offered places on a team being fielded by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which monitors elections in all its member states, including the United States. “We told the Russian government that they were welcome to observe our elections,” Kirby said.
“The fact that they have chosen to not join the OSCE observation mission makes clear that this issue is nothing more than a PR stunt,” he added.
Russian observers could also apply directly to individual US states for accreditation, Kirby said, adding that Washington would not stand in their way.
“There’s nothing for us to fear from having Russian observers observing our election,” he told reporters.
“We’re very confident in the stability, the security and the strength of our electoral process. There’s no need to hide from that.”
On Thursday, the Russian newspaper Izvestia reported that Russia had chosen not to join the OSCE observer mission.
Instead, it said, Russian observers had applied directly to US states for accreditation and had been refused.
A Russian electoral official, cited by the paper, accused the State Department of blocking the observers because of its “Russophobic tendencies.”
But Kirby said he was not aware that any advice had been given to individual US states about foreign observers.
Earlier, Oklahoma and at least two other states said Friday that they have denied efforts by Russian officials to be present at polling stations during the election, requests the U.S. State Department’s spokesman dismissed as “nothing more than a PR stunt.”
The Oklahoma secretary of state’s office said it received a letter in August from Russia’s consulate general in Houston seeking to have one of its officers present at a voting precinct to study the “US experience in organization of voting process.” But the office denied the request, noting Oklahoma law prohibits anyone except election officials and voters from being present while voting is taking place.
Election officials in Louisiana and Texas said they denied similar requests from Russian officials.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has faced criticism for suggesting the election might be “rigged,” and the U.S. earlier this month accused Russia of coordinating the theft and disclosure of emails from the Democratic National Committee and other institutions and individuals in the U.S. to influence the outcome of the election.
Russia is welcome to send observers to the US presidential election, even if their requests smack of a propaganda stunt, the State Department said Friday.
Moscow has been accused of trying to undermine the race through cyber attacks against US political targets, and its observers complain they were refused accreditation.
But State Department spokesman John Kirby said there is no policy to refuse Russian observers.
He noted that Russian officials were offered places on a team being fielded by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which monitors elections in all its member states, including the United States. “We told the Russian government that they were welcome to observe our elections,” Kirby said.
“The fact that they have chosen to not join the OSCE observation mission makes clear that this issue is nothing more than a PR stunt,” he added.
Russian observers could also apply directly to individual US states for accreditation, Kirby said, adding that Washington would not stand in their way.
“There’s nothing for us to fear from having Russian observers observing our election,” he told reporters.
“We’re very confident in the stability, the security and the strength of our electoral process. There’s no need to hide from that.”
On Thursday, the Russian newspaper Izvestia reported that Russia had chosen not to join the OSCE observer mission.
Instead, it said, Russian observers had applied directly to US states for accreditation and had been refused.
A Russian electoral official, cited by the paper, accused the State Department of blocking the observers because of its “Russophobic tendencies.”
But Kirby said he was not aware that any advice had been given to individual US states about foreign observers.
Earlier, Oklahoma and at least two other states said Friday that they have denied efforts by Russian officials to be present at polling stations during the election, requests the U.S. State Department’s spokesman dismissed as “nothing more than a PR stunt.”
The Oklahoma secretary of state’s office said it received a letter in August from Russia’s consulate general in Houston seeking to have one of its officers present at a voting precinct to study the “US experience in organization of voting process.” But the office denied the request, noting Oklahoma law prohibits anyone except election officials and voters from being present while voting is taking place.
Election officials in Louisiana and Texas said they denied similar requests from Russian officials.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has faced criticism for suggesting the election might be “rigged,” and the U.S. earlier this month accused Russia of coordinating the theft and disclosure of emails from the Democratic National Committee and other institutions and individuals in the U.S. to influence the outcome of the election.