Speaking to a meeting of business leaders in Moscow, Lavrov said: "Without any evidence, as you know, we are being accused of interfering in elections not only in the US but also in European states."

The United States has been using a "pretext of a fight against a Russian threat in Washington" to muscle in on Russian business interests out of Europe. Washington was working to weaken Russia's position in the arms export and energy sectors to the benefit of the US, Lavrov added, according to Interfax news agency.

Later on Tuesday, Lavrov said Washington should investigate "the Ukrainian trace," the RIA news agencyreported. Kiev "has information" about the 2016 US presidential election," Lavrov told a news briefing.

On Monday a man accused of plotting to kill Russian President Vladimir Putin was injured and his wife killed in an attack outside Kyiv.

FBI getting closer

Lavrov's comments come after a special prosecutor's probe into Russia's possible meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and potential ties between the Trump campaign team and the Kremlin enters new territory. Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his business associate Richard Gates were charged Tuesday with conspiracy and money laundering in connection with lobbying work for a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine.

Read more: What Robert Mueller's indictments of former Trump campaign officials mean for the president

The charges are the first from an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election and are not directly tied to the Trump himself.

Papadopolous enters front stage

Meanwhile, a former foreign policy adviser for Trump's campaign, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty also on Tuesday to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia.

The White House has denied collusion with Russia for several months, although court documents released on Monday reveal new evidence emerged of a plot by Papadopoulos to arrange a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on behalf of the future US president.

It is the clearest evidence so far of a Trump campaign official's attempts to work with the Kremlin emerged in an indictment brought by Robert Mueller, the special counsel.

A document now in the hands of the FBI investigators shows that in the spring and summer of 2016, Papadopolous sought to forge ties to Kremlin officials, later misled the FBI and tried to cover it up.

Trump later said Papadopoulos, "the low level volunteer" has "proven to be a liar."

"Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar," Trump said.

Lavrov, meanwhile, told reporters later on Tuesday that he "does not see anything illegal" in the interaction [with Papadopoulos].

Russian influence also via social media

Some 126 million Americans saw Facebook posts disseminated by Russian-linked agents seeking to influence the 2016 presidential election, a Facebook executive plans to tell Congress, The Independent newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The figure offers the most detailed public accounting to date of the scale of a Russian disruption campaign via social media sites and online platforms.

Congress has summoned executives from Facebook, Twitter and Google to testify as lawmakers pursue multiple investigations of Russia's influence campaign.

Facebook said last month it had uncovered thousands of divisive advertisements purchased by Russian-linked fake accounts.

US intelligence agencies described the organization as a network of pro-Russian trolls likely financed by a Putin ally, whom intelligence officials believe directed the election interference effort.

Putin has repeatedly denied interfering in the American presidential election or other votes in foreign countries, but admitted that "patriotic" Russian hackers may have been involved.

Hacking the 2016 US election: a timeline 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.

Hacking the 2016 US election: a timeline 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."

Hacking the 2016 US election: a timeline '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.

Hacking the 2016 US election: a timeline 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.

Hacking the 2016 US election: a timeline 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.

Hacking the 2016 US election: a timeline 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.

Hacking the 2016 US election: a timeline 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. Author: Elizabeth Schumacher



The South Africa question

"Recently, there was an allegation that Moscow decided what minister to appoint in South Africa," Lavrov said. "In general, there is no limit to fantasy."

A report in the UK newspaper, The Sunday Times, suggested that South African President Jacob Zuma's recent cabinet reshuffle had been under Russian pressure to move David Mahlobo from state security to energy and Bongani Bongo in the opposite direction.

Mahlobo's appointment heightened speculation that Zuma wants to push through a nuclear deal with Russia before his term ends in 2019. Putin's team told Zuma to speed up and conclude the multi-billion-dollar deal and only a few hours after that gathering the latest cabinet reshuffle took place, the paper suggested.

jbh/sms (dpa, Reuters)