MOSCOW: Russia’s foreign ministry summoned the US, British and Canadian ambassadors for a dressing down on Tuesday after they condemned the conviction of an opposition politician on treason charges.
A Moscow court jailed Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, who holds Russian and British passports, for 25 years on Monday after a trial he and the West said was politically motivated.
Kara-Murza, 41, had lobbied Western governments for sanctions that were later imposed on Russia and individual Russians for purported human rights violations, and condemned what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
The Russian foreign ministry accused the three ambassadors of “crude interference in Russia’s internal affairs and activity incompatible with their diplomatic status”, Interfax news agency reported.
There was no immediate comment from the three embassies.
The US, 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 against Kara-Murza and demand his release.
British Ambassador Deborah Bronnert delivered her remarks in Russian so that Russian-language TV channels could potentially broadcast them.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the foreign ministry called Bronnert’s remarks “inappropriate” and “provocative” and said they ran counter to the British embassy’s status and to diplomatic norms.
