Hilary Clinton’s defeat in the 2016 U.S. presidential election cannot be blamed on Russia, in spite of accusations by Democrat officials, Sigmar Gabriel, the former German Foreign Minister, said.

Gabriel, also the Chairman of the Atlantic Bridge Non-profit Association, said this on Tuesday at a news conference in Berlin, Germany.

“The Democrats are perhaps even tougher opponents of Russia because there is a significant part of the Democratic Party which believes that Hilary Clinton, due to the interference of [Russian President] Vladimir Putin, lost the previous presidential election.

“I consider this to be a delusion,’’ Gabriel said.

The minister, who held this post from 2017 to 2018, added that accusations of Russian interference were not guaranteed to be the reason for Clinton’s defeat to Donald Trump.

Leading Russian officials have consistently denied all accusations of interfering in the U.S. political system, saying that such actions are contrary to the country’s foreign policy.

Trump has also denied all claims that he colluded with Russia ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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