Russia’s foreign ministry has accused the United States of meddling in its 2018 elections after the US state department raised concern over the decision to bar opposition leader Alexei Navalny from running.

Speaking to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency following the Central Election Commission’s decision to bar Navalny from competing, a spokesman for the US state department reportedly expressed concern over “restrictions on independent voices.”

Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, took to Facebook to condemn the remarks.

“This state department statement, which I’m sure will be repeated, is a direct interference in our electoral process and internal affairs,” she wrote.

“The funniest thing is that these are the same people who just tagged RT and Sputnik as foreign agents, who are harassing Russian media around the world and who are investing huge amounts of money into ‘countering Russian propaganda,’ which is how they label anyone who they disagree with," she added.

The comments came amid heightened tensions between the two countries following alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election.