US Dropped Mutual Assurances of Non-Meddling from Helsinki Declaration – Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United States rejected a Russian offer to include mutual assurances of non-interference in polls from a proposed joint declaration at the Helsinki summit, media said.

Russia suggested adding a clause that would call cyberattacks on critical infrastructure – power grids, water pumps, banks and hospitals – unacceptable, three Russian and US officials told the Kommersant newspaper.

Sources said Moscow had proposed "joint measures to prevent the use of cyberspace to destabilize internal political processes, including elections." The United States initially agreed to sign the joint declaration but then rowed back on it.

READ MORE: Berlin Wants Assurance Moscow to Prevent Hackers Meddling in Election – Lawmaker

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, last month held their first summit in Helsinki, Finland. The leaders emerged from the one-on-one meeting more than two hours later to tell reporters they were both interested in improving bilateral ties.