The Russian Foreign Ministry has informed the US ambassador in Moscow of its protest regarding the embassy's support for illegal activities in Russia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry considered Washington's actions concerning unauthorized gatherings in Russia to be an interference in internal affairs. Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for President Vladimir Putin, confirmed that the statements made by the US embassy regarding the protests that reportedly saw more than 3,500 people detained represent interference in the internal matters of the country and encourage Russians to violate the law.
In her turn, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, affirmed the ministry's intention to hold American diplomats accountable for the US embassy's publication of "protest routes" in several Russian cities on Friday, in addition to its dissemination of information about a "march to the Kremlin."
Zakharova questioned the Russian news agency TASS: "Was this a general directive or specific instructions?" stressing that these plans were unknown even to the organizers themselves, referring to the protest organizers (supporters of activist Alexei Navalny) that took place in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other Russian cities on Saturday.
Zakharova continued her inquiries about how the response would be if the Russian embassy in Washington published a map of protest routes mentioning the Capitol as the final destination for the marches, asserting that such mapping would result in immense hysteria from American politicians, along with anti-Russian slogans and threats of sanctions and the expulsion of Russian diplomats.
She noted that Americans would need to provide explanations on this matter at the Russian Foreign Ministry.
During the protests, US embassy spokesperson Rebecca Ross tweeted that the United States supports everyone's right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression, indicating that the actions taken by Russian authorities undermine those rights. The embassy also issued a statement citing the US State Department's call for Navalny's release.
