MOSCOW (Sputnik) — US media reported on Thursday that government officials in the states of Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas had rejected Russian requests to observe the US presidential and local elections in November.
"Unfortunately, we received mostly negative responses including threats that our interest and presence at polling stations could be seen as a criminal act," the embassy said in a statement published on its website Friday.
The embassy continued saying that it had not submitted any requests to the US State Department regarding the election observation.
The embassy stressed that it had applied to electoral commissions showing interest in "getting acquainted" with the US experience of the elections procedures, not "observing" the elections.
Department of State spokesman John Kirby said Friday the United States had informed the Russian government that it was welcome to observe the US elections.
The US presidential elections are set to take place on November 8.