US authorities intimidating Facebook, Twitter, Google – Russia

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov says US trying to intimidate Facebook, Twitter, Google

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov on Wednesday said United States authorities are trying to intimidate Facebook, Twitter and Google.

“I am surprised at these Internet giants saying one day that, let’s say, 5,000 dollars was spent on some political advertising, and the next day they say that 40 million US citizens, voters turned out to be under the influence of some Russian social and political ads,” Ryabkov told reporters.

“The story does not hang together, they become confused in the testimony, they are intimidated and confused by the US authorities, who themselves, it seems to me, do not quite understand where to go in this issue,” he said.

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Ryablov said the US is falling more into sanctions mania, adding the country probably has no other levers of foreign policy.

“Unfortunately, the US is increasingly falling into sanctions mania, it does not have other levers, as we understand it, to conduct its foreign policy, apart from sanctions for those who for some reason do not suit Washington either due to their policy or behaviour.

“As of today, about 70 countries exist in the world, whose citizens and organizations are in this or that way subject to American sanctions.

“This is a problem of global planetary scale – the United States is undermining by its policy the bases of normal interaction,” he said.