*Bogota, Colombia: *Russia will face consequences if it meddles in the USlegislative election this year, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson saidTuesday.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo warned last month that he does in fact expectMoscow to try to interfere, as US intelligence agencies insist it did inthe 2016 presidential election to help Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton.

Tillerson, speaking to Fox News during a tour of Latin America, said”there’s a lot of ways that the Russians can meddle in the elections, a lotof different tools they can use.”

“And we are seeing certain behaviors. There are a number of importantelections in this hemisphere this year, and leading up to the US in 2018,”Tillerson said.

“I think it’s important we just continue to say to Russia ‘Look, if youthink we don’t see what you’re doing, we do see it and you need to stop. Ifyou don’t, you are going to just continue to invite consequences foryourself.'”

He added, though, that if Moscow decides to meddle in an election, “it’svery difficult to preempt it.”

Special prosecutor Robert Mueller and US lawmakers are probing the Russianmeddling in the 2016 presidential election, specifically whether the Trumpcampaign colluded in that effort and whether Trump has tried to obstructjustice by hindering the investigations. – AFP