The Russian Foreign Ministry on Sunday strongly protested a Russian parliamentary questioning in New York, describing the act as hostile and further deteriorating relations between the two countries.
"We strongly protest the actions of the US authorities against the State Duma deputy of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Inga Yumasheva, who was detained Saturday at New York airport by FBI agents and interrogated," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"She was asked to move into a separate room, and an FBI agent knew himself and began questioning her for an hour," she said, citing Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov.
"In addition, she was offered to meet with an FBI officer in a different informal context to continue talking," the ambassador added.
"This is another act of aggression against Russia and its representatives, and clearly aims to further deteriorate the atmosphere of Russian-American relations," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"Either the US authorities, contrary to their statements, are not striving to normalize the dialogue, or they cannot control the actions of their intelligence services," the statement said. "Those who make decisions in Washington should consider where a systematic escalation could lead to tension in relations." With Russia? This policy is short-sighted and dangerous. "
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Yumasheva went to the social and political forum for dialogue "Fort Ross" as coordinator of the parliamentary group of the State Duma for relations with the US Congress.
The forum, which starts on Sunday, aims to help promote mutual understanding and cooperation between the peoples of Russia and the United States.