MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/. Russia sees nothing new in the case of Russian national Maria Butina from the point of view of the United States’ behavior, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov told reporters on Wednesday.

"There is nothing new in this case. The US intelligence services are hunting for Russia’s citizens not only in the US but in other countries too," he said.

"We are doing our utmost to establish contacts, meet [with Maria Butina] to solve the problem as soon as possible," Antonov said. "We will do the best we can to get the Russian citizen out of this situation."

On Monday, the US Department of Justice said Russian citizen Maria Butina had been arrested in Washington, DC, on charges of acting as an unregistered agent of the Russian government.

According to the US Justice Department, the 29-year-old Butina is suspected of acting "as an agent of Russia inside the United States by developing relationships with US persons and infiltrating organizations having influence in American politics, for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian Federation."

She faces up to five years in prison if found guilty by a court. The charges in the criminal complaints are merely allegations and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.