Russia says US aid mission tried to influence elections

Russia accused the United States on Wednesday of using its aid mission in Moscow to try to influence Russian politics and the outcome of elections, one day after Washington announced Moscow had ordered the mission's closure.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had also been worried by the work of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in regions including the North Caucasus, where Moscow faces an Islamist insurgency. (Reuters)