Stockholm has not dismissed possible Russian attempt to influence Swedish elections
The Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Löfven, believes that Russian attempts to influence the elections in Sweden cannot be excluded.
"We should not exclude this possibility and are naive to believe that it will not happen in Sweden. That is why information and cyber security are a part of this strategy," as reported by The Local, quoting the Swedish Prime Minister, while speaking at a national conference on population and defense.
He stressed that his government considers cyber attacks one of the more serious threats to national security.
Such statements were made by Löfven after allegations by U.S. officials against Russia, accusing the Russian Federation of trying to influence the result of the presidential elections. On Friday, 6 January, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation released declassified information that stated that "Moscow obviously favoured Donald Trump in the presidential race." American Intelligence Services stated that Russia deliberately "denigrated Hillary Clinton."
Russia has repeatedly denied these allegations. On Monday, 9 January, the press secretary of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, noted that the declassified part of the report does not contain any evidence and was prepared at an amateur level.
Löfven, however, considered the American conclusions to be a cause for concern and stated that other countries which will be having elections soon, should think about it.
Earlier the Swedish Institute of International Affairs accused Russia of disseminating fictitious news and false documents in order to influence the decision making process in Sweden.
Elections in Sweden will take place in 2018.