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No formal obstacles for Butina's return to Russia — ambassador

Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said that Russian national Maria Butina's prison sentence ends on October 25

Russian Ambassador to the United State Anatoly Antonov Valery Sharifulin/TASS

Russian Ambassador to the United State Anatoly Antonov

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

WASHINGTON, October 23. /TASS/. There are no formal obstacles to the return to Russia of Maria Butina who was convicted in the United States, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said on Tuesday.

"As practice shows, the process of deportation may take several days or more. There are no formal obstacles to her return as Maria's foreign passport was transferred to US immigration authorities in advance in order to speed up the process of deportation of the Russian citizen," Antonov said adding that Butina's sentence ends on October 25.

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Antonov reminded that Butina serves her sentence in the Tallahassee Federal Correctional Institution in Florida. "We are also in contact with the institution's administration. After serving her sentence, she is subject to deportation to Russia," the ambassador said.

"Since Butina's arrest in the United States, the Russian Embassy in Washington has been involved in ensuring her legal rights and interests," Antonov continued. "We closely followed the whole process, did everything possible to provide her with consular and other necessary types of support, worked to make her conditions in prison better. Our diplomats remain in contact with Maria, her relatives, lawyer and US immigration authorities," he added.

The date of Butina's return to Russia depends "on the US authorities, particularly on the Marshals Service which does not provide specific information citing security concerns," Antonov said. "We will do everything possible for our citizen to return home as soon as possible," he stressed.

Chairman of the Russian State Duma's International Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky said earlier that Butina will return to Russia in the three days after her release on October 25.

Maria Butina was arrested in Washington on July 15, 2018 — ahead of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Helsinki. She was charged with participation in a collusion for carrying out activity on US territory to benefit a foreign state. American intelligence services stated that the Russian citizen carried out this activity without being registered as an agent of a foreign state with the Department of Justice.

On April 26, Butina was sentenced to 1.5 years of imprisonment. Moscow stated that the charges were fabricated and demanded that she be released from custody.

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