Russia's Lavrov calls on U.S. to publish bilateral communications over 2016 election

Reporters are escorted out of the room as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov take their seats to hold talks with their delegations at the State Department in Washington, U.S., December 10, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday said Moscow wanted to publish a cache of communications with Washington that he said cleared Russia of allegations it interfered in the 2016 U.S. election, but that the United States has blocked their release.

During a joint news conference with his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Lavrov once again dismissed the American accusation that Moscow tried to sway the 2016 election, which resulted in the upset victory of President Donald Trump.