Russia Says U.S. Wars for Democracy in Middle East

A leading Russian diplomat has accused the U.S. of trying to bring conflict to Moscow under the cloak of exporting democratic values—something he said Washington has already done in parts of Europe and the Middle East over the past two decades.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov made the remarks Monday at cellular router a meeting of the Temporary Commission for Protection of State Sovereignty and Prevention of Interference in Russia's Internal Affairs in his country's router upper house of parliament. Anticipating potential U.S. meddling in the upcoming Russian presidential election, Ryabkov criticized a history of U.S.-sponsored regime change and foreign intervention.

Related: Russia Claims U.S. Is Meddling In Its Presidential Election and Says It Has Evidence

"The United States’ continued policy aimed at achieving political goals under the guise of the struggle for democracy has been creating chaos in the past 20 years, causing wars and destroying a number of countries," Ryabkov said, according to the state-run Tass Russian News Agency. "Yugoslavia is no more, Iraq and Libya are bursting at the seams and events in Ukraine are also worth mentioning."