US evading Russia's calls for dialogue on Information Security: Moscow

Washington avoids discussing information security issues with Moscow, Andrey Krutskikh, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department of International Information Security, said on Thursday.

"Washington is evading our calls for a constructive conversation to strengthen the international legal framework in the information space in order to ensure a peaceful, stable and secure ICT [Information and Communications Technology] environment," Krutskikh said in a statement, published by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Krutskikh also noted the increasingly frequent accusations by the United States and its allies against Russia of "preparing for cyberwar" with the West.

"They are blatantly and groundlessly attributing to us the intention to get even for the sanctions. In doing so, they are apparently trying to justify to their own citizens the large-scale cyber aggression already being carried out against our country, as well as to justify new measures of pressure on the Russian Federation," Krutskikh added.

On March 30, FBI Assistant Director for Cyber Bryan Vorndran said that Russia is one of the top two cyber adversaries the United States currently faces in the world and is a "formidable foe.