Accusations Against Russia Of Plotting Cyberattacks On OPCW Groundless Provocation - Envoy

Accusations Against Russia of Plotting Cyberattacks on OPCW Groundless Provocation - Envoy

Accusations against Russia of preparing a hacker attack on the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) are completely groundless and provocative, Russian Envoy to the OPCW Alexander Shulgin said Friday.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th October, 2018) Accusations against Russia of preparing a hacker attack on the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) are completely groundless and provocative, Russian Envoy to the OPCW Alexander Shulgin said Friday.

"In our speech, we said these statements were completely groundless, we see this as a crude provocation aimed at pushing Russia into a corner in retaliation for its active position on preventing the further politicization of the OPCW, on deepening the split, and on assignment of irrelevant functions to the technical secretary," Shulgin said while aired by the Ruptly broadcaster.

He also commented on the accusations made against specific Russians allegedly involved in the cyberattack.

"We gave explanations. Indeed, in April this year, technical experts came here. The purpose of the trip was to check the security of the communication systems of our embassy. This is a completely normal thing," he said.

On October 4, the United Kingdom claimed that the Russian military's Main Intelligence Directorate was "almost certainly" responsible for a series of cyberattacks targeting political institutions, media outlets and companies across the world.

On the same day, the Dutch Defense Ministry claimed that its intelligence services had thwarted a cyberattack against the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), headquartered in The Hague, allegedly attempted by four Russian citizens holding diplomatic passports. UK Permanent Representative to the OPCW Peter Wilson said that London and its allies would work to update the sanctions for the use of chemical weapons, aggression in cyberspace and the violation of human rights.

The Russian Foreign Ministry refuted the allegations, saying that the claims were a part of yet another act of propaganda and that "anti-Russia spymania campaign" negatively affected bilateral relations.

Canada and the United States later joined the allegations, accusing seven Russian military intelligence officials of targeting with cyberattacks the US electoral system, a US nuclear power company and anti-doping agencies.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that Washington "poisoned" the relations between the two countries with those allegations.