From left, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy, British ambassador to Russia Deborah Bronnert and Canada’s ambassador to Russia Alison LeClaire speak to the media after the sentence of Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, April 17, 2023. Photo- AP
Moscow: The Russian Foreign Ministry has summoned on Tuesday the ambassadors of the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada to express dismay over ‘meddling’ in Russia’s internal affairs, the ministry said in a statement.
“The ambassadors of the US, the UK and Canada have been summoned to the Foreign Ministry over blatant interference in Russia’s domestic affairs and activities inconsistent with diplomatic status,” the statement reads.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused the three ambassadors of “crude interference in Russia’s internal affairs and activity incompatible with their diplomatic status”, the Interfax news agency reported.
There was no immediate comment from the three embassies. The U.S., British and Canadian ambassadors had made a joint appearance in front of TV cameras on the steps of the Moscow court on Monday to condemn the verdict and demand the release of jailed Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza – who holds Russian and British passports.
Kara-Murza, 41, had condemned what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Terming the remarks of British Ambassador to Moscow Deborah Bronnert as ‘unacceptable’ the Russian diplomat warned London against politicizing international human rights issues.
‘Subversive Work’
In a statement issued late on Monday, before the envoys were summoned, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused them of trying to pressure the judiciary and said diplomats who meddled in Russia’s affairs risked being expelled.
“Any actions of the United States, Britain and Canada… aimed at inciting discord and enmity in our society will be dealt with in the most decisive way and the diplomats involved in this subversive work will be expelled from Russia,” she said.
Referencing what she said were human rights violations in the three Western countries, Zakharova said it was cynical for them to demand the release of someone she called “an agent of influence” financed by the West.
“Attempts to pressure Russia’s government and its independent judiciary are bound to fail. Traitors… who are applauded in the West will get what they deserve,” she said.
Britain – which in 2020 imposed sanctions on the judge who presided over Kara-Murza’s case for alleged rights violations – on Monday summoned the Russian ambassador to protest.
Kara-Murza himself compared his trial, which was held behind closed doors, to one of Josef Stalin’s show trials in the 1930s.
Pro-Kremlin politicians said Kara-Murza deserved to be jailed for helping the West craft sanctions against Russia.
With inputs from agencies.
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