Some officials in Washington are working to prevent relations between Russia and the U.S. from improving, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the officials were even acting in such ways as to destroy the relations even more.
The ministry was commenting on the Countering Malign Kremlin Influence (CMKI) Development Framework recently developed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Earlier in the day, USAID said that its head, Mark Green, had informed Washington’s partner states and organisations on the development framework.
The document outlined the areas on which the initiative is focused, particularly opposing actions to undermine the rule of law and democratic institutions, independent media outlets and energy and economic security.
“Of course, this action program outlined by a high-ranking official of the current US Administration is disappointing.
“It is in sharp discordance with the constructive tone of the recent meeting of (Russian) President Vladimir Putin and (U.S. President) Donald Trump at the G20 summit in Osaka.
“It is obvious that influential officials in Washington are doing their best to prevent normalization of the Russian-American relations and to destroy them even more,” the ministry said.
It added that the CMKI was a tool for ideological struggle and propaganda, noting, however, that Russia had always stated its readiness for constructive cooperation with Washington.
