Russian Interior Ministry Slams Smear Campaign Against Candidate For Interpol Chief

Russia's Interior Ministry on Tuesday accused foreign media of running a smear campaign against its candidate to lead Interpol, the world policing agency.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th November, 2018) Russia's Interior Ministry on Tuesday accused foreign media of running a smear campaign against its candidate to lead Interpol, the world policing agency.

"Today we are witnessing a campaign in foreign media to discredit the Russian candidate for Interpol president. We think it is unacceptable to politicize Interpol," ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk said.

Alexander Prokopchuk has been the agency's vice president for Europe since 2016 and is a veteran law enforcement officer, Volk told reporters, which makes him qualified to lead the organization.

"If elected, Prokopchuk will continue to work in the interest of the international policing community," the spokeswoman emphasized.

The Russian major general has been tipped to succeed Meng Hongwei, who resigned as Interpol president after going missing in China in September. This prompted a backlash from several US senators and a flurry of reports in mostly US media accusing Prokopchuk of going after Kremlin critics.