MOSCOW, Aug 9 (NNN-BERNAMA-ANADOLU) — The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned United States (US) Consul Ambassador Tim Richardson to issue a diplomatic demarche over the US Embassy’s actions regarding protests in Moscow, Anadolu Agency reported, quoting a statement by the ministry.
The diplomat was told that publishing information about the time, place, and a detailed schedule and route of the march on the embassy’s website and social media was an interference in Russia’s internal affairs.
“It was stressed that publishing of a detailed information of an illegal event, drafted by the (event’s) organisers, we consider as campaigning for participation in it and a call to action, which is an attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of our country,” the ministry said in the statement, published on its official website.
Russian opposition groups took to the streets on two consecutive weekends to protest against a government move to ban opposition candidates from entering the local parliamentary elections in September.
In a government crackdown against the protesters, nearly 2,000 protesters were arrested.
–NNN-BERNAMA-ANADOLU
