Kremlin Dismisses Being Behind Democratic Party Hack

Putin, Lavrov and Peskov
Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L), accompanied by foreign ministry colleagues, waits on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, September 28, 2015. Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin/Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman has laughed off suggestions that Russia was behind the hack of emails from the U.S. Democratic Party, warning journalists not to make him use unprintable words, state news agency Itar-Tass reports.

Over 20,000 emails exchanged by party officials were leaked by hackers last week, exposing damaging information about inner party turmoil, particularly casting doubt onto central party officials' lack of bias between the two figures who at that point were still seeking to clinch the Democratic nomination for president. The details of the leaks are still being investigated but The New York Times has speculated Russian malware from a pro-Kremlin organization may have been behind the hack.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed speculation, telling reporters not to make him give obscene, "four-letter-word" responses. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was equally dismissive, calling the reports "absurd" but elaborated more.

"In general we are always watching out for these obsessive attempts to use the topic of Russia in the narrative of the electoral campaign in the U.S.," Peskov said, when asked about the allegations. "Unfortunately this so-called typical sideshow continues."

Many have particularly highlighted the frequent praise Russian officials seem to heap on the U.S Republican Party's presidential candidate Donald Trump and Trump's campaign chairman Paul Manafort who was once an advisor to Kremlin-ally Viktor Yanukovych. Yanukovych was ousted as president of Ukraine in controversial fashion, after backtracking on an agreement with the EU, igniting mass protests from pro-EU Ukrainians across the country.

Manafort has dismissed suggestions that him or Trump have any ties with the Kremlin.

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