OYO /Republic of the Congo/, June 4. /TASS/. Washington’s refusal to let ex-intelligence officer Scott Ritter travel abroad to participate in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Russia is further proof that the United States has turned into a police state, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"This is yet another example on top of numerous others that show that the United States, which calls itself the world's leading democracy, has long turned into a police state," he said.
When asked whether Moscow can do anything about this, Lavrov pointed out that Ritter is not a Russian citizen, and he is not seeking to become one. "That is why we cannot do anything from a legal point of view. But I don’t think that its is difficult to anticipate our reaction," he stressed.
Former US Marine Corps Intelligence Officer and UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter told TASS earlier that he was not allowed to board a flight from New York to Istanbul, a stopover on his way to Russia to take part in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. According to Ritter, no explanations were given to him. The police, in his words, said only that it was done at the order from the Department of State.