"We regard the decision of the court in Washington to sentence Butin to 18 months in prison as politically engaged ... She became a victim of a tough confrontation between various political forces of the United States", - noted in the commentary on the department website.
It is emphasized that all the charges against the Russian woman are fictitious and are “fabricated”.
At the same time, the Foreign Ministry of Russia reminded that Butin was forced to incriminate himself under the threat of a stricter punishment.
Earlier, the Russian Embassy in the United States called the sentence Butina "blatant lawlessness."
The Russian woman was detained in July 2018 on suspicion of "working for Russia as an agent."
She later made a deal with the investigation.