Russia tempering expectations for cooperation as US votes, says Lavrov

Moscow does not have inflated expectations for cooperation with the new US president, the RIA news agency cited Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying as US voters went to the polls on Tuesday.

Lavrov said Russia would respect any choice the American people make and would be ready for constructive cooperation, but said Moscow was realistic in evaluating the prospects for bilateral relations.

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Meanwhile, as voting opened, Chad Wolf, told a press briefing that US election systems remain “resilient” despite attempts by foreign countries like Iran and Russia to hack them and to obtain voter data.

Read more: US Election Day: Polls open in New York, New Jersey, Virginia as Biden takes on Trump

“We have no indications that a foreign actor has succeeded in compromising or affecting the actual votes cast in this election. But we do remain on high alert,” said Wolf.

Chris Krebs, the head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which is in charge of election security, said he is confident that the vote results, which will only begin coming in on Tuesday evening, will be secure.

But he warned that there was still time for people to try and disrupt the election, or for breakdowns in voting technology.

“There may be other events or activities or efforts to interfere and undermine confidence in the election,” Krebs said.

“So I ask all Americans to be patient, to treat all sensational and unverified claims with skepticism,” he said.