The Russian Foreign Ministry addressed election interference allegations as an April Fools' Day joke on Saturday.

The ministry said on its Facebook page that it had set up an automated telephone switchboard for embassies, offering in a fake voicemail the services of "hackers" and "election interference."

"You have reached the Russian embassy, your call is very important to us. To arrange a call from a Russian diplomat to your political opponent, press 1," the recording begins, in Russian and English.

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"To use the services of Russian hackers, press 2. To request election interference, press 3 and wait until the next election campaign," the voicemail continues.

"Please note that all calls are recorded for quality improvement and training purposes."

A ministry officer confirmed to The Associated Press that the message was an official joke.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week denied allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Intelligence agencies in late 2016 said that Russia had interfered in the election to benefit President Trump.