The State Department will scale back its assessments of elections in foreign countries, only chiming in publicly when there is a “clear and compelling” foreign policy interest, according to a new directive sent to U.

A State Department cable telling officials to avoid comments on the “fairness or integrity” of most elections continues a U.S. turn away from promoting democratic values abroad.

The State Department is pulling back from commenting on or criticizing elections overseas unless there’s a clear and compelling U.S. foreign policy interest in doing so