The United States denounced on Wednesday Russia’s expulsion of USAID, denying accusations by Moscow that the agency had been meddling in Russian elections.

The United States denounced on Wednesday Russia’s expulsion of USAID, denying accusations by Moscow that the agency had been meddling in Russian elections.

"It is regrettable that Russia's taken this decision, first and foremost for the Russian people," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said as Moscow gave the US Agency for International Development until October 1 to leave the country.

She highlighted the civil society, health and environment programs funded via the roughly $50 million annual budget for the agency, which has been working in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
"It is regrettable that the Russian people are not going to be able to benefit from the support that the American people are sending their way in... areas of health, environment," Nuland told journalists.

She also dismissed out of hand accusations by the Russian foreign ministry that the aid agency was meddling in domestic politics.
"We completely reject the notion that our support for civil society, democracy, human rights in any way interferes with elections," Nuland said.

"We make no secret of the fact that when we are supporting free, fair, transparent elections that's what we want to see. We want to see free, fair, transparent elections."

But she stressed the US was "even-handed" and offered access to democracy programs to "any political party that wants to take advantage of them. This is not about how you win; this is about how you manage campaigns, about how you work with civil society."