The US security adviser John Bolton has again accused Russia of meddling in elections, which Russia again denied. Bolton also announced a cut in US funding for the UN.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Druzhinin
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President Donald Trump's National Security Advisor John Bolton gave a press interview in Geneva on Thursday between the morning and afternoon sessions of his meetings with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev.
In the interview with US news agency AP, Bolton said he had raised the issue of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US elections: "I made it clear that we wouldn't tolerate meddling in 2018, and we were prepared to take necessary steps to prevent it from happening."
Bolton said the Russian delegates had reacted to his words with stone faces: "They didn't respond at all," he said. He said later that the issue of election meddling had prevented the two sides from issuing a joint final statement.
However Bolton said "There won't be any new sanctions if there's no further interference," and then added "how we resolve the interference in the past remains to be seen." He said the focus was on making sure there was no "repetition of 2016."
So far, 12 Russian officials have been indicted as part of an investigation by US special counsel Robert Mueller.
Hacking the 2016 US election: a timeline
The US expelled 35 Russian diplomats over a bitter row between the two countries. The Kremlin denied US intelligence reports that it supported hackers who tried to sway the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/K. Kudryavtsev
Democrats in the dark
Over the summer, a security company hired by the Democratic National Convention tells the DNC that they have been successfully infiltrated by hackers for more than year. Two groups, known as Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear, both have links to the Russian government, the Washington Post reports.
Image: Reuters/M. Kauzlarich
All eyes on Russia
At the end of July, the FBI launches an investigation into whether or not the Russian government ordered the DNC hack. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov calls the move "paranoid."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
'Russia, if you're listening'
On the campaign trail, Republican nominee Donald Trump encourages Russia to "find the 30,000 emails that are missing." In a series of debates with rival Hillary Clinton, Trump casts doubt on Moscow's role in hacks that targeted the DNC and Clinton's campaign manager, John Podesta.
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
WikiLeaks targets Clinton
Anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks begins releasing slightly compromising emails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. Co-founder Julian Assange defends targeting Clinton, saying Trump's own statements are indictment enough of the Republican nominee. Over a period of months, WikiLeaks consistently denies allegations that its sources are based in Russia.
Image: Reuters/A. Schmidt
CIA, FBI investigations
In a rare moment of complete agreement for the two biggest intelligence agencies in the US, both the FBI and CIA come to the conclusion that the Russian government sought to influence the US election by promoting unfavorable coverage of Hillary Clinton.
Image: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Donald and Vladimir
Trump, who has made no secret of his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, calls the intelligence reports "ridiculous." Anti-Clinton voices slam the probe as a distraction meant to discredit the now president-elect. This puts Trump at odds with Republicans in Congress who call for an independent investigation.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Thew & A. Druzhinin/Ria Novosti/Kremlin Pool
Obama expels diplomats
At the end of December, the Obama administration expels 35 Russian diplomats and shuts down two Russian intelligence compounds as the Kremlin continues to deny having a role in the summer's cyberattacks. President Putin eschews direct retaliation, saying he will wait to see how President-elect Trump's Russia policies play out.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/P. M. Monsivais
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Russian side to the story
Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said after the 5-hour meetings in Geneva on Thursday that no date had been set for a follow-up and again denied allegations of Russian meddling in the US election.
Patrushev said the two sides had discussed Syria, Ukraine, cyber-security and nuclear issues.
Bolton said they had also discussed Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan. For Iran, Bolton said the US priority was to get "all Iranian forces out of Syria" but admitted a solution was not on the agenda for the day's discussions.
US to cut human rights funding
Bolton, a former US ambassador to the UN, also said on Thursday that the US would cut its funding for the organization's human rights office.
"We are going to de-fund the Human Rights Council," Bolton said and added that US funds for other UN agencies could be reduced in proportion to the current US contribution of 22 percent of the UN's budget.
"We'll calculate 22 percent of the Human Rights Council and the High Commissioner's budget, and our remittances to the UN for this budget year will be less 22 percent of those costs — and we'll say specifically that's what we're doing," he said. "We expect that impact to occur on the Human Rights Council."
Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet is to become the UN human rights chiefImage: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Wenig
