Moscow: US Openly Tries to Unfairly Undermine Russia's Cooperation With Partners

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United States openly seeks to disrupt Russia's cooperation with partners in economic, energy and defence industry fields by promoting its own companies, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, commenting on the planned US "anti-Russian threat" aid package.

"There is another vivid example of the policy of unfair competition, when the Americans openly push for disruption of our mutually beneficial cooperation with partners in the economic, energy fields and in the framework of defence industry cooperation, promoting their own companies instead," the ministry said in a statement.

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The ministry also noted that Washington tried to weaken Russia's role on the world stage and reorient other countries toward cooperation with the United States by all possible means.

The comment referred to the Monday's request by US President Donald Trump for $500 million in his 2020 budget proposal to provide support for countries in Europe and Asia to counter Russia’s alleged malign influence.

The funds are expected to be used to assist the countries in switching from Russian military equipment and addressing "weaknesses in the macro-economic environment that the Government of Russia seeks to exploit, such as dependence on energy and trade."