Again we have to state what seems to be obvious. As much as one would like to, it is impossible to comment on statements that are totally unsubstantiated and are clearly aimed at producing the greatest political and public wow-effect.

As the press secretary of the President of Russia has already said, we do not know what Microsoft is talking about, what attempted interference is meant and who those “Russian hackers,” the more so “associated with the Kremlin,” are.

As a reminder, we have long been proposing to get down to concrete matters. These include preparing a meeting of the bilateral working group on cyber security, where such problems must, in fact, be discussed with the participation of Russian and US specialists. Apparently, our American colleagues do not want to present any evidence of the alleged Russian cyber interference, which they claim to possess, for fear of embarrassing themselves. Simply, there is none and there cannot be any. Nevertheless, we are ready for such contacts, for normalising a dialogue of professionals.

It is a shame that a large international company that has long been actively and successfully operating on the Russian market has been forced to participate in the witch hunt gripping Washington – evidently, in order to demonstrate their loyalty. It is their choice. We will have to make the necessary conclusions.