Kremlin: Putin calls for reset between US and Russia on cyber relations before elections

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called for a reset on cyber relations with the United States, and requested that the two countries agree not to influence each other’s elections.

He proposed “exchanging guarantees of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, including electoral processes, including using information and communication technologies and high-tech methods,” Reuters reported.

The U.S. intelligence community has pointed to Russia as interfering in the 2016 presidential election to help President Trump and hurt the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.

Election officials said earlier this month they are preparing for Russian interference for the upcoming race between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.

In 2016, Russia played a significant role in election meddling, establishing troll farms for fake accounts, among other issues.

“One of the main strategic challenges of our time is the risk of a large-scale confrontation in the digital sphere,” Putin said in the Kremlin statement.

Putin proposed Russia and the U.S. should agree to combat and prevent major cyberspace incidents, comparing it to a 1972 U.S.-Soviet treaty met during the peak of the Cold War to prevent sea and air conflicts from escalating.

“We would like to once again appeal to the United States with a proposal to approve a comprehensive program of practical measures to reset our relations in the use of information and communication technologies,” he said.