U.S. special services' actions on State Duma deputy Yumasheva are unacceptable, deserve condemnation - Volodin
MOSCOW. Oct 6 (Interfax) - The U.S. special services' actions on State Duma Inga Yumasheva are a cynical provocation, Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said.
"Obviously, there are forces in the United States that want aggravation of bilateral relations. Actions that create a negative atmosphere in the relations between our countries are unacceptable and deserve condemnation," Volodin told reporters on Sunday.
"State Duma deputy Inga Yumasheva received an invitation to attend an international forum, the U.S. embassy issued her a visa," he said.
"Inga Yumasheva coordinates in the State Duma the work of a group on liaison with the U.S. congress, she interacts with her colleagues, participates in difficult dialogue," Volodin said.
"In this regard, the U.S. special services' behavior can only be seen as a cynical provocation," Volodin said.
"The actions by the United States of America are a fine example of a violation of their international obligations," he said.
The Russian embassy in Washington earlier sent a protest note to the U.S. Department of State in regard of the questioning of State Duma deputy Yumasheva at the New York airport.
Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov said an FBI official had questioned Yumasheva in a separate room for about an hour after the detention. He said that the official had offered to the deputy to continue their conversation "in a different, informal atmosphere" after the questioning.
"We find such actions to be unacceptable, outrageous. We hope they will explain to us what such probing approaches to a State Duma deputy mean," Antonov was quoted by the embassy in a report posted on Facebook. The diplomat said the U.S. may be doing that to disrupt the Dialogue Fort Ross forum.
It was earlier reported that Russian Foreign Ministry officials could not attend the Dialogue Fort Ross forum because the U.S. had denied them visas.
The U.S. had previously denied visas to ten Russian Foreign Ministry officials, Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin, State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee head Leonid Slutsky, and Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee head Konstantin Kosachyov. The Russian officials needed the visas to attend a UN General Assembly session in New York.