“Hunting” for Russians in third countries is nothing but one of the tools of US pressure on Russia. Washington refuses to cooperate with our law enforcement agencies on the basis of the 1999 Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance, ”Lavrov said.
He added that Washington is putting pressure on its allies and other states, seeking the arrest of Russians in their territory and subsequent deportation to the United States.
“All this is happening secretly, on the sly and without a convincing evidence base. It comes to outright abductions, as it was in 2010 with Konstantin Yaroshenko in Liberia and in 2014 with Roman Seleznyov in the Maldives, ”the Russian Foreign Minister said.
Lavrov stressed that the Russian side will not leave its people in trouble.
“In contacts with the Americans, we are insistently demanding the release of our citizens, we are striving for their speedy return to their homeland. Incidentally, this also applies to the well-known cases of Russians Viktor Bout and Maria Butina, ”the Russian minister noted.
Russian Roman Seleznyov was sentenced to 27 years in prison in late April 2017. He was accused of cyber espionage. Seleznyov was captured by agents of the United States Secret Service in the Maldives in 2014 and exported to the United States. Seleznev’s defense, his father, State Duma Deputy Valery Seleznyov, and the Russian Foreign Ministry called the detention of a Russian abduction and violation of international law.
Konstantin Yaroshenko was sentenced in the US to 20 years in prison in 2011. He was accused of preparing and delivering a large amount of drugs to American territory. He was extradited to the United States from Liberia.