Associated Press asked the court to reject the Deripaska's claim for slander

The American news agency Associated Press asked the court in Washington to reject the slander filed by Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska. The businessman went to court in mid-May due to an article on his alleged contacts with the former head of the US President Donald Trump Paul Manafort.

Earlier, Associated Press refused to publish a refutation of this information.

According to the agency’s lawyers, the material contains the right information, and Deripaska considers it slander, based on “incorrect conclusions”. In addition, the definition of a "public person" is applicable to Deripaska. In this case, in order to file a lawsuit against the media, the Russian businessman will have to prove that journalists acted with an evil intent.

In March, the Associated Press reported that Manafort about 10 years ago secretly cooperated with Deripaska and developed a strategic plan to promote the Kremlin’s interests in American politics, business and media.

Deripaska announced his readiness to speak at the US Congress and comment on reports of concluding a contract of 10 million dollars a year to "promote the interests of the Putin government." He called this information false.