Russia never interferes in internal affairs of other countries, says Russian intel chief

MOSCOW, December 10. /TASS/. Russia is not meddling in the domestic affairs of other countries and, unlike the West, is not engaged in changing state regimes, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin told Razvedchik magazine.

"Russia does not interfere in the internal affairs of other states and, unlike the West, does not engage in regime changes," he said. "The task of foreign intelligence is to provide the Russian leadership with information about the actual state of affairs abroad in a particular area and about the true intentions of the foreign authorities."

"It helps to avoid spontaneous and thoughtless decisions that are fraught with unpredictable consequences, including the risk of military conflicts," Naryshkin added.