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Senior lawmaker rebukes US for reminding Russia of its obligations under Vienna Convention

Leonid Slutsky rebuked the US State Department for what he termed its "usual [practice] of appearing to be holier than thou and passing off wishful thinking as reality"

MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/. A senior Russian lawmaker dismissed as unnecessary Washington’s calls on Moscow to fulfill its international diplomatic obligations amid plans to question two diplomats posted to the US embassy in Moscow in the case of Robert Shonov, a former employee of the US consulate general Vladivostok, Russia, who the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has charged with gathering data on Russia’s special military operation.

"Russia always adheres to international law and fulfils all of its obligations. Therefore, there is no need to urge it to comply with the Vienna Convention," Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee and head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR)’s parliamentary faction, told TASS.

The senior lawmaker rebuked the US State Department for what he termed its "usual [practice] of appearing to be holier than thou and passing off wishful thinking as reality." Meanwhile, FSB reports stating that Shonov was arrested for gathering data about Moscow’s special military operation, and his own testimony, clearly show that Washington is still attempting to grossly interfere in Russia’s internal affairs and destabilize the domestic situation in Russia from the outside, Slutsky said. "And these charges cannot be dismissed as being without merit, as they are more than serious," he maintained.

The FSB reported on Monday that Shonov had been charged with gathering information on Russia’s special military operation for pay based on instructions from two employees of the US embassy’s political department, Jeffrey Sillin and David Bernstein, "from last September until he was arrested."

The FSB added that there were plans to question the two US diplomats, with relevant summonses having been sent to the US embassy in Moscow. On Monday, State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement that Washington viewed the allegations as being "wholly without merit" as he reminded Moscow of its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

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