MOSCOW, June 2. /TASS/. The US State Department cannot lecture anyone about observing human rights amid all the brutalities committed by the police against journalists in the protests that gripped the US, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said via Facebook.
She underlined that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has a meeting with Tiananmen Square survivors scheduled for today.
"From the window of the State Department in Washington you can see carnage unfolding between police officers and protesters who have something to say about surviving in squares, however, international hypocrisy is still very much a thing. I wonder whether he [Pompeo] will tell his guests about the US achievements in the sphere of human rights protection?" Zakharova asked.
The diplomat underlined that right now the US can only boast about wrongful and brutal treatment of journalists, who are bombarded with tear gas cans and shot with rubber bullets by police officers. "There is something to be proud of: more than 100 US and foreign reporters suffered at the hands of police," Zakharova concluded.
Earlier, the Russian foreign ministry called on relevant international organizations to come up with a reaction to the increasing occasions of police violence against media representatives who are covering the US protests. The diplomatic agency also pointed out systematic problems regarding human rights in the US, demonstrated by the riots and protests that erupted across the country.
The US plunged into a series of protests and riots happening daily across many states following the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota after a police officer knelt on the black man’s neck. On May 26, all four police officers who took part in the arrest were fired, one of them was taken into custody himself on charges of third-degree murder and manslaughter.