Slovakia’s foreign ministry announced today that it had summoned a Russian embassy official to protest for the statements made by the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergei Naryskin.

In his statement he says the comments, which he said were false, took place on the eve of the parliamentary elections held on Saturday in Slovakia, when there was a moratorium on information that could be to the benefit or detriment of the candidates.

“The Directorate of Diplomacy strongly protests the false statement of the Russian intelligence services, which calls into question the integrity of the free and democratic elections in Slovakia,” the ministry’s statement said.

“We consider such deliberately disseminated disinformation to be unacceptable interference by the Russian Federation in the election process.”

In his announcement the State Department calls on Russia to cease all disinformation activities targeting Slovakia.