Russia's Lavrov says allegations of meddling in Catalonia hysteria: Ifax

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday dismissed allegations that Moscow had fomented separatist sentiment in Spain's Catalonia as hysteria, the Interfax news agency reported.

Spanish ministers said on Monday they believed Russian-based groups used online social media to heavily promote Catalonia's independence referendum last month in an attempt to destabilize Spain.

(Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Writing by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Maria Kiselyova)