The Russian foreign ministry accused the United States of “direct interference” in the country’s upcoming election after the State Department criticized ​the barring ​of ​President Vladimir Putin’s chief rival from running against him, a report on Wednesday said.

“This State Department statement, which I’m sure will be repeated, is a direct interference in our electoral process and internal affairs,” spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote Tuesday on Facebook​, according to Business Insider.​

The State Department lashed out at the Kremlin after an election commission stopped Alexei Navalny from mounting a challenge against Putin in the March 18 presidential election, expressing concern over the “ongoing crackdown against independent voices, from journalists to civil society activists and opposition politicians.”

​The statement said the Russian government is failing to protect “fundamental freedoms.”​

“More broadly, we urge the government of Russia to hold genuine elections that are transparent, fair, and free and that guarantee the free expression of the will of the people, consistent with its international human rights obligations​,”​ the statement said.​

Zakharova shot back at the claims.

“And these people expressed outrage over alleged Russian ‘interference’ in their electoral process for an entire year?!” she said.​ ​”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.”

US intelligence agencies have agreed that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election even though Putin has denied the accusations.

A number of congressional panels and special counsel Robert Mueller are investigating the interference and whether President Trump’s campaign associates colluded with Russian agents.

​Trump has dismissed the claim of Russian meddling, saying it’s sour grapes by Democrats trying to discredit his victory over Hillary Clinton. ​

​Russia’s ​Central Election Commission last week decided that Navalny, 41, can’t run against Putin because he has a suspended sentence ​​for a fraud case.

​In response, Navalny urged his supporters to boycott the election, leading the Kremlin to threaten to launch an investigation against him to determine if he ​did anything illegal.

“The calls for a boycott will require scrupulous study, to see whether or not they comply with the law,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.