Russia complains of ‘election interference’ to US ambassador

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Foreign Ministry has summoned US Ambassador John Sullivan to complain about alleged interference by what it called American “digital giants” in Russia’s upcoming parliamentary election. A ministry statement Friday said the deputy foreign minister claimed Russia “possesses irrefutable evidence of the violation of Russian legislation by the American ‘digital giants’ in the context of the preparation and conduct of elections to the State Duma.” The statement did not give details of the complaint, but Russian authorities have pressured Google and Apple to remove apps of the Smart Voting initiative designed by the team of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny.