Foreign powers, including<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-now-says-he-told-putin-we-cant-have-meddling-in-us-elections-152735"> Russia</a>, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/china-denies-meddling-in-us-mid-term-elections-166628">China</a> and Iran, sought to influence voters in the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-moves-to-crack-down-on-asylum-seekers-ahead-of-us-elections-174989">US&nbsp;2018 mid-term elections</a>, but there is no evidence of any penetration into US&nbsp;voting systems, the top US&nbsp;intelligence official said on Friday.

US&nbsp;Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats added that the intelligence community did not assess the impact of the foreign influence efforts on the election results.

The findings were included in a report that Coats submitted to <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/hours-ahead-of-midnight-deadline-trump-meets-republican-senators-to-thrash-out-wall-funding-dilemma-185729">US&nbsp;President Donald Trump</a> and US&nbsp;agencies involved in election security as required by an executive order signed by Trump in September.

The order declared election interference a national emergency in the wake of an intelligence assessment that Russia conducted an influence operation to sway the 2016 presidential vote to Trump over his Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton.

Russia denies that it interfered in the 2016 contest.

"At this time, the intelligence community does not have intelligence reporting that indicates any compromise of our nation's election infrastructure that would have prevented voting, changed vote counts or disrupted the ability to tally votes," Coats said in a statement on the 2018 election report.

"The activity we did see was consistent with what we shared in the weeks leading up to the election," he continued. "Russia, and other foreign countries, including China and Iran, conducted influence activities and messaging campaigns targeted at the United States to promote their strategic interests."

Coats did not elaborate on details of the foreign influence operations, and he said that the intelligence community did not assess their impact on voters who last month elected a new US&nbsp;Congress, state legislatures, governors and other officials.

"The Russians did not go away after the 2016 election," Mark Warner, the senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement on the new report.

"Now that the Russian playbook is out in the open, we're going to see more and more adversaries trying to take advantage of the openness of our society to sow division and attempt to manipulate Americans," Warner added.

Special Counsel <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/lawyer-says-mueller-can-interview-trump-only-over-my-dead-body-184611">Robert Mueller</a> is investigating possible collusion during the 2016 presidential race between Russia and the Trump campaign. Trump denies any cooperation and has repeatedly denounced Mueller's probe as a "witch hunt."

Foreign powers, including Russia, China and Iran, sought to influence voters in the US 2018 mid-term elections, but there is no evidence of any penetration into US voting systems, the top US intelligence official said on Friday.

Foreign powers, including Russia, China and Iran, sought to influence voters in the US 2018 mid-term elections, but there is no evidence of any penetration into US voting systems, the top US intelligence official said on Friday. US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats added that the intelligence community did not assess the impact of the foreign influence efforts on the election results. The findings were included in a report that Coats submitted to US President Donald Trump and US agencies involved in election security as required by an executive order signed by Trump in September. The order declared election interference a national emergency in the wake of an intelligence assessment that Russia conducted an influence operation to sway the 2016 presidential vote to Trump over his Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton. Russia denies that it interfered in the 2016 contest. "At this time, the intelligence community does not have intelligence reporting that indicates any compromise of our nation's election infrastructure that would have prevented voting, changed vote counts or disrupted the ability to tally votes," Coats said in a statement on the 2018 election report. "The activity we did see was consistent with what we shared in the weeks leading up to the election," he continued. "Russia, and other foreign countries, including China and Iran, conducted influence activities and messaging campaigns targeted at the United States to promote their strategic interests." Coats did not elaborate on details of the foreign influence operations, and he said that the intelligence community did not assess their impact on voters who last month elected a new US Congress, state legislatures, governors and other officials. "The Russians did not go away after the 2016 election," Mark Warner, the senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement on the new report. "Now that the Russian playbook is out in the open, we're going to see more and more adversaries trying to take advantage of the openness of our society to sow division and attempt to manipulate Americans," Warner added. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating possible collusion during the 2016 presidential race between Russia and the Trump campaign. Trump denies any cooperation and has repeatedly denounced Mueller's probe as a "witch hunt."

Russia, China, Iran sought to influence midterm elections: US spy chief

The Kremlin on Wednesday said it saw no bright prospects for an improvement in ties between Russia and the United States any time soon, as Moscow braced for a new raft of US sanctions.

Speaking after Democrats took control of the lower house of Congress in a rebuke to US President Donald Trump during <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-midterm-elections-democrats-take-control-of-house-republicans-keep-senate-175998">midterm elections</a>, Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov painted a pessimistic picture of relations.&nbsp;

"Rosy prospects for the normalisation of Russian-US ties are not visible on the horizon," he told reporters.&nbsp;

"But that does not mean that we are not aiming for dialogue, that we don't want dialogue, because we are facing a lot of problems," he said, referring to arms control as one of outstanding issues.

"These problems will not disappear without talks."

Peskov sought to downplay concerns that the midterm result would further complicate Washington's ties with Moscow, saying that bilateral relations were already tricky and stressing that Moscow had not interfered in the US vote.

On Tuesday, the United States also said it was preparing fresh sanctions against Moscow over the attempted assassination in Britain of a former spy, after a previous round sowed chaos on Russian markets.

Three months after the United States declared that Russia violated a US law that seeks the elimination of chemical and biological weapons, the State Department told Congress in a legally-mandated follow-up that Moscow had not come into compliance. 
&nbsp;

The Kremlin on Wednesday said it saw no bright prospects for an improvement in ties between Russia and the United States any time soon, as Moscow braced for a new raft of US sanctions.

The Kremlin on Wednesday said it saw no bright prospects for an improvement in ties between Russia and the United States any time soon, as Moscow braced for a new raft of US sanctions. Speaking after Democrats took control of the lower house of Congress in a rebuke to US President Donald Trump during midterm elections, Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov painted a pessimistic picture of relations. "Rosy prospects for the normalisation of Russian-US ties are not visible on the horizon," he told reporters. "But that does not mean that we are not aiming for dialogue, that we don't want dialogue, because we are facing a lot of problems," he said, referring to arms control as one of outstanding issues. "These problems will not disappear without talks." Peskov sought to downplay concerns that the midterm result would further complicate Washington's ties with Moscow, saying that bilateral relations were already tricky and stressing that Moscow had not interfered in the US vote. On Tuesday, the United States also said it was preparing fresh sanctions against Moscow over the attempted assassination in Britain of a former spy, after a previous round sowed chaos on Russian markets. Three months after the United States declared that Russia violated a US law that seeks the elimination of chemical and biological weapons, the State Department told Congress in a legally-mandated follow-up that Moscow had not come into compliance.

Kremlin says it sees no prospects for better Russia-US ties

As NATO kicked-off <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/ahead-of-military-exercise-in-norway-nato-chief-says-hope-russia-will-avoid-dangerous-behavior-173367">Trident Juncture 18 military exercise</a> in western Norway, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said Russia planned to test missiles near the area.

"We were notified last week about the planned Russian missile tests outside the coast here," NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said, adding,"I expect Russia to behave in a professional way."

Russia will be testing the missiles from November 1st to 3rd in the Norwegian Sea, Norway was informed by Putin's government. The NATO exercise is taking place along Norway's far north border with Russia.

"We will, of course, monitor closely what Russia does but they operate in international waters and they have notified us in the normal way," Stoltenberg while declaring that the missile tests won't change the exercise plan.

Russia had earlier denounced the military exercise calling it "provocative, even if you try to justify it as being of a purely defensive nature." Stoltenberg had hit back saying "NATO does not seek confrontation but we stand ready to defend all allies against any threat."

The mega exercise involving over 50,000 NATO troops including those from Finland and Sweden come in the backdrop of US pulling out of the Nuclear Forces treaty(NFT) which was signed by former President Ronald Regan and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signalling the end of the cold war.

Stoltenburg had backed the US move adding that "Russia now is in violation of the INF" fueling Russian antagonism.

The exercise which started on October 25th will continue till November 7th in central and eastern Norway including in Iceland, Finland and Sweden. 
&nbsp;

As NATO kicked-off Trident Juncture 18 military exercise in western Norway, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said Russia planned to test missiles near the area.

As NATO kicked-off Trident Juncture 18 military exercise in western Norway, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said Russia planned to test missiles near the area. "We were notified last week about the planned Russian missile tests outside the coast here," NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said, adding,"I expect Russia to behave in a professional way." Russia will be testing the missiles from November 1st to 3rd in the Norwegian Sea, Norway was informed by Putin's government. The NATO exercise is taking place along Norway's far north border with Russia. "We will, of course, monitor closely what Russia does but they operate in international waters and they have notified us in the normal way," Stoltenberg while declaring that the missile tests won't change the exercise plan. Russia had earlier denounced the military exercise calling it "provocative, even if you try to justify it as being of a purely defensive nature." Stoltenberg had hit back saying "NATO does not seek confrontation but we stand ready to defend all allies against any threat." The mega exercise involving over 50,000 NATO troops including those from Finland and Sweden come in the backdrop of US pulling out of the Nuclear Forces treaty(NFT) which was signed by former President Ronald Regan and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signalling the end of the cold war. Stoltenburg had backed the US move adding that "Russia now is in violation of the INF" fueling Russian antagonism. The exercise which started on October 25th will continue till November 7th in central and eastern Norway including in Iceland, Finland and Sweden.

Russia to test missiles near military exercise area in Norway: NATO chief

A Russian government think tank controlled by Vladimir Putin developed a plan to swing the 2016 US&nbsp;presidential election to Donald Trump and undermine voters&rsquo; faith in the American electoral system, three current and four former US&nbsp;officials told Reuters.

They described two confidential documents from the think tank as providing the framework and rationale for what US&nbsp;intelligence agencies have concluded was an intensive effort by Russia to interfere with the November&nbsp;8 election. US&nbsp;intelligence officials acquired the documents, which were prepared by the Moscow-based Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, after the election.

The institute is run by retired senior Russian foreign intelligence officials appointed by Putin&rsquo;s office.

The first Russian institute document was a strategy paper written last June that circulated at the highest levels of the Russian government but was not addressed to any specific individuals.

It recommended the Kremlin launch a propaganda campaign on social media and Russian state-backed global news outlets to encourage US&nbsp;voters to elect a president who would take a softer line towards Russia than the administration of then-President Barack Obama, the seven officials said.

A second institute document, drafted in October and distributed in the same way, warned that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was likely to win the election. For that reason, it argued, it was better for Russia to end its pro-Trump propaganda and instead intensify its messaging about voter fraud to undermine the US&nbsp;electoral system&rsquo;s legitimacy and damage Clinton&rsquo;s reputation in an effort to undermine her presidency, the seven officials said.

The current and former US&nbsp;officials spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the Russian documents&rsquo; classified status. They declined to discuss how the United States obtained them. US&nbsp;intelligence agencies also declined to comment on them.

Putin has denied interfering in the US&nbsp;election. Putin&rsquo;s spokesman and the Russian institute did not respond to requests for comment.

The documents were central to the Obama administration&#39;s conclusion that Russia mounted a &ldquo;fake news&rdquo; campaign and launched cyber attacks against Democratic Party groups and Clinton&#39;s campaign, the current and former officials said.

&ldquo;Putin had the objective in mind all along, and he asked the institute to draw him a road map,&rdquo; said one of the sources, a former senior US&nbsp;intelligence official.

Trump has said Russia&rsquo;s activities had no impact on the outcome of the race. Ongoing congressional and FBI investigations into Russian interference have so far produced no public evidence that Trump associates colluded with the Russian effort to change the outcome of the election.

Four of the officials said the approach outlined in the June strategy paper was a broadening of an effort the Putin administration launched in March 2016. That month the Kremlin instructed state-backed media outlets, including international platforms Russia Today and Sputnik news agency, to start producing positive reports on Trump&rsquo;s quest for the US&nbsp;presidency, the officials said.

Russia Today did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Sputnik dismissed the assertions by the US&nbsp;officials that it participated in a Kremlin campaign as an &ldquo;absolute pack of lies.&rdquo; &ldquo;And by the way, it&#39;s not the first pack of lies we&#39;re hearing from &#39;sources in U.S.&nbsp;official circles&#39;,&quot; the spokesperson said in an email.

&nbsp;

PRO-KREMLIN BLOGGERS

Russia Today and Sputnik published anti-Clinton stories while pro-Kremlin bloggers prepared a Twitter campaign calling into question the fairness of an anticipated Clinton victory, according to a <a href="https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf" target="_blank">report </a>by US&nbsp;intelligence agencies on Russian interference in the election made public in January.

Russia Today&rsquo;s most popular Clinton video - &ldquo;How 100% of the 2015 Clintons&rsquo; &lsquo;charity&rsquo; went to ... themselves&rdquo; - accumulated 9 millions views on social media, according to the January <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RTAmerica/videos/10153703671361366/" target="_blank">report</a>.&nbsp;

The report said Russia Today and Sputnik &ldquo;consistently cast president elect-Trump as the target of unfair coverage from traditional media outlets.&quot;

The <a href="https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf" target="_blank">report </a>said the agencies did not assess whether Moscow&rsquo;s effort had swung the outcome of the race in Trump&rsquo;s favour, because American intelligence agencies do not &ldquo;analyse US&nbsp;political processes or US&nbsp;public opinion&rdquo;.

&nbsp;

CYBER ATTACKS

Neither of the Russian institute documents mentioned the release of hacked Democratic Party emails to interfere with the US election,&nbsp;according to four of the officials. The officials said the hacking was a covert intelligence operation run separately out of the Kremlin.

The overt propaganda and covert hacking efforts reinforced each other, according to the officials. Both Russia Today and Sputnik heavily promoted the release of the hacked Democratic Party emails, which often contained embarrassing details.

Five of the US&nbsp;officials described the institute as the Kremlin&rsquo;s in-house foreign policy think tank.

The institute&rsquo;s director when the documents were written, Leonid Reshetnikov, rose to the rank of lieutenant general during a 33-year-career in Russia&rsquo;s foreign intelligence service, according to the institute&rsquo;s <a href="https://riss.ru/profile/prime/" target="_blank">website</a>. After Reshetnikov retired from the institute in January, Putin named as his replacement Mikhail Fradkov. The institute <a href="https://en.riss.ru/profile/mikhail-fradkov/" target="_blank">says </a>he served as the director of Russia&rsquo;s foreign intelligence service from 2007 to 2016.

Reuters was unable to determine if either man was directly involved in the drafting of the documents. Reshetnikov&rsquo;s office referred questions to the Russian institute.

On its <a href="https://en.riss.ru/about/]" target="_blank">website</a>, the Russian institute describes itself as providing &ldquo;expert appraisals,&rdquo; &ldquo;recommendations,&rdquo; and &ldquo;analytical materials&rdquo; to the Russian president&rsquo;s office, cabinet, National Security Council, ministries and parliament.

On Jan. 31, the <a href="http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/53793" target="_blank">websites </a>of Putin&rsquo;s office&nbsp;and the <a href="https://en.riss.ru/news/20063/" target="_blank">institute</a>&nbsp;posted a picture and transcript of Reshetnikov and his successor Fradkov meeting with Putin in the Kremlin. Putin thanked Reshetnikov for his service and told Fradkov he wanted the institute to provide objective information and analysis.

&ldquo;We did our best for nearly eight years to implement your foreign policy concept,&rdquo; Reshetnikov told Putin. &ldquo;The policy of Russia and the policy of the President of Russia have been the cornerstone of our operation.&rdquo;

(Reuters)

It recommended that the Kremlin launch a propaganda campaign on social media and Russian state-backed global news outlets

A Russian government think tank controlled by Vladimir Putin developed a plan to swing the 2016 US presidential election to Donald Trump and undermine voters’ faith in the American electoral system, three current and four former US officials told Reuters. They described two confidential documents from the think tank as providing the framework and rationale for what US intelligence agencies have concluded was an intensive effort by Russia to interfere with the November 8 election. US intelligence officials acquired the documents, which were prepared by the Moscow-based Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, after the election. The institute is run by retired senior Russian foreign intelligence officials appointed by Putin’s office. The first Russian institute document was a strategy paper written last June that circulated at the highest levels of the Russian government but was not addressed to any specific individuals. It recommended the Kremlin launch a propaganda campaign on social media and Russian state-backed global news outlets to encourage US voters to elect a president who would take a softer line towards Russia than the administration of then-President Barack Obama, the seven officials said. A second institute document, drafted in October and distributed in the same way, warned that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was likely to win the election. For that reason, it argued, it was better for Russia to end its pro-Trump propaganda and instead intensify its messaging about voter fraud to undermine the US electoral system’s legitimacy and damage Clinton’s reputation in an effort to undermine her presidency, the seven officials said. The current and former US officials spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the Russian documents’ classified status. They declined to discuss how the United States obtained them. US intelligence agencies also declined to comment on them. Putin has denied interfering in the US election. Putin’s spokesman and the Russian institute did not respond to requests for comment. The documents were central to the Obama administration's conclusion that Russia mounted a “fake news” campaign and launched cyber attacks against Democratic Party groups and Clinton's campaign, the current and former officials said. “Putin had the objective in mind all along, and he asked the institute to draw him a road map,” said one of the sources, a former senior US intelligence official. Trump has said Russia’s activities had no impact on the outcome of the race. Ongoing congressional and FBI investigations into Russian interference have so far produced no public evidence that Trump associates colluded with the Russian effort to change the outcome of the election. Four of the officials said the approach outlined in the June strategy paper was a broadening of an effort the Putin administration launched in March 2016. That month the Kremlin instructed state-backed media outlets, including international platforms Russia Today and Sputnik news agency, to start producing positive reports on Trump’s quest for the US presidency, the officials said. Russia Today did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Sputnik dismissed the assertions by the US officials that it participated in a Kremlin campaign as an “absolute pack of lies.” “And by the way, it's not the first pack of lies we're hearing from 'sources in U.S. official circles'," the spokesperson said in an email. PRO-KREMLIN BLOGGERS Russia Today and Sputnik published anti-Clinton stories while pro-Kremlin bloggers prepared a Twitter campaign calling into question the fairness of an anticipated Clinton victory, according to a report by US intelligence agencies on Russian interference in the election made public in January. Russia Today’s most popular Clinton video - “How 100% of the 2015 Clintons’ ‘charity’ went to ... themselves” - accumulated 9 millions views on social media, according to the January report. The report said Russia Today and Sputnik “consistently cast president elect-Trump as the target of unfair coverage from traditional media outlets." The report said the agencies did not assess whether Moscow’s effort had swung the outcome of the race in Trump’s favour, because American intelligence agencies do not “analyse US political processes or US public opinion”. CYBER ATTACKS Neither of the Russian institute documents mentioned the release of hacked Democratic Party emails to interfere with the US election, according to four of the officials. The officials said the hacking was a covert intelligence operation run separately out of the Kremlin. The overt propaganda and covert hacking efforts reinforced each other, according to the officials. Both Russia Today and Sputnik heavily promoted the release of the hacked Democratic Party emails, which often contained embarrassing details. Five of the US officials described the institute as the Kremlin’s in-house foreign policy think tank. The institute’s director when the documents were written, Leonid Reshetnikov, rose to the rank of lieutenant general during a 33-year-career in Russia’s foreign intelligence service, according to the institute’s website. After Reshetnikov retired from the institute in January, Putin named as his replacement Mikhail Fradkov. The institute says he served as the director of Russia’s foreign intelligence service from 2007 to 2016. Reuters was unable to determine if either man was directly involved in the drafting of the documents. Reshetnikov’s office referred questions to the Russian institute. On its website, the Russian institute describes itself as providing “expert appraisals,” “recommendations,” and “analytical materials” to the Russian president’s office, cabinet, National Security Council, ministries and parliament. On Jan. 31, the websites of Putin’s office and the institute posted a picture and transcript of Reshetnikov and his successor Fradkov meeting with Putin in the Kremlin. Putin thanked Reshetnikov for his service and told Fradkov he wanted the institute to provide objective information and analysis. “We did our best for nearly eight years to implement your foreign policy concept,” Reshetnikov told Putin. “The policy of Russia and the policy of the President of Russia have been the cornerstone of our operation.” (Reuters)

Putin-linked think tank planned to sway 2016 US election: Documents

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Russia, China, Iran sought to influence midterm elections: US spy chief

Kremlin says it sees no prospects for better Russia-US ties

Russia to test missiles near military exercise area in Norway: NATO chief

Putin-linked think tank planned to sway 2016 US election: Documents