“Our country is unsubstantiatedly accused of involvement in “gross violations” of the religious rights of citizens.
Moreover, the theses are so hackneyed that the Americans do not even bother to at least “refresh” the wording with claims, ”the diplomatic mission said in a statement.
Russian diplomats urged Washington to address its own shortcomings, including an aggressive campaign to discredit traditional family and religious values.
The embassy stressed that Russia was developing as a multinational and multi-confessional state.
Earlier, the US State Department included Russia in the list of countries where there is a "systematic and egregious violation of religious freedoms."
At the same time, it became known that representatives of the SBU interrogated more than 50 people using a polygraph during events on the premises of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).
The department explained that the measures are being taken to "prevent the use of the Lavra as a cell of the Russian world."
Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that the actions of the SBU in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra became a new link in Kyiv's war against the Russian Orthodox Church.