Consider the inverse: > The only reason they're associated with Russia's interest in the first place is because that happens to be in the interest of the left

Consider the inverse: > The only reason they're associated with Russia's interest in the first place is because that happens to be in the interest of the left or right at any given moment and place. That’s the angle ‘they’ are looking at it from: association with Russia is coincidental, devotion to the right is the underlying issue.