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Diplomat calls US link between FBK and Jehovah's Witnesses unprecedented

According to Maria Zakharvova, the Russian Foreign Ministry will bear in mind this in-depth and exact comparison

MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova believes that a parallel drawn by the US State Department between the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK, the non-profit NGOs recognized in Russia as foreign agent) and the Jehovah's Witnesses extremist group (outlawed in Russia) will go down in history.

"I believe this will go down in history. This is an unprecedented comparison. This comparison between FBK and Jehovah's Witnesses is making them equal in the public consciousness, by drawing a parallel between the sects. On the other hand, there is nothing strange here. It seems to me that US curators of both of them know better what to call their puppets," Zakharova told the Solovyov Live YouTube channel on Thursday.

"They compared Russia’s reaction to their activity but forgot to say that we have our domestic legislation and it is applied in the same way like in other countries," the diplomat noted.

According to Zakharvova, the Russian Foreign Ministry will bear in mind this in-depth and exact comparison.

Earlier, the US Department of State condemned the Moscow City Court’s ruling on recognizing the Anti-Corruption Foundation, the Citizens’ Rights Protection Foundation (the non-profit NGOs recognized in Russia as foreign agent) as well as the Navalny Headquarters public movement as extremist organizations on Wednesday. US State Department Spokesman Ned Price Washington criticized the 2017 Russian Supreme Court’s decision to recognize the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious organization and all regional religious organizations in its structure as extremists.