The US embassy in Moscow said on Saturday that diplomats are monitoring ongoing demonstrations in major Russian cities.
On Saturday, many Russian cities were hit by mass protests in support of opposition figure Alexey Navalny, who was detained in Moscow this past Sunday upon his arrival from Germany, where he had undergone months of treatment after being allegedly poisoned with a nerve agent. The blogger was subsequently placed in custody for 30 days for violating his probation terms for an earlier embezzlement conviction.
"We are monitoring reports of protests in 38 Russian cities ... The United States supports the right of all people to peaceful protests, freedom of expression.
The measures taken by the Russian authorities are aimed at suppressing these rights," the embassy tweeted.
On Friday, the US embassy in Russia published an alert statement about the opposition demonstrations across Russia in support of Navalny. The embassy mentioned routes of the anticipated rallies and urged US nationals to avoid these locations.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that such publications will be viewed as rude foreign interference in Russia's domestic affairs and there will be a relevant reaction. The ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that US diplomats will be summoned to the ministry following a publication of opposition protest maps.
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Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that US diplomats will be summoned to the ministry following a publication of opposition protest maps.
ReplyDelete"The US colleagues will have to explain this at Smolenskaya Square [the location of the Russian Foreign Ministry]," Zakharova said.
On Friday, the US embassy in Russia published an alert statement about the opposition demonstrations across Russia in support of Alexey Navalny. The embassy mentioned routes of the anticipated rallies and urged US nationals to avoid these locations. The embassy noted that in Moscow, "demonstrators plan to gather near Pushkin Square at approximately 1400 and march towards the Kremlin."
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that such publications will be viewed as rude foreign interference in Russia's domestic affairs and there will be a relevant reaction.
"What was it - a recommendation or an instruction? Even the organizers [of protests] did not announce such plans.
One can imagine what could happen if the Russian embassy in Washington published a map of protest routes indicating Capitol Hill would be the final point. Such orientation on the ground would result in a global hysteria of US politicians, including anti-Russian slogans, threats of sanctions and the expulsion of Russian diplomats," Zakharova stressed.