MOSCOW, February 23. /TASS/. The Epstein files have shed light on the "heinous scum" who were been inventing myths about Russia for many years to divert attention from their own crimes, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s official spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, told TASS in an interview.

She recalled numerous accusations against Russia, adding that the country came up with "arguments and facts" to refute them.

"They have been concocting myths about Russia, about the alleged threat, about crimes that we, as they claimed, allegedly committed on their territory. Meanwhile, for so many years, all this scum was nesting right inside their communities, right at the heart of them, in the most luxurious districts of New York, London, and other European capitals, and in the United States of America," she said.

"Now that the Epstein files are published <…> it turns out that the real criminals, real ghouls were comfortable inside the Western society. They were involved in all sorts of heinous crimes: corruption, human trafficking, forced prostitution, false imprisonment, and pedophilia, you name it," she added.