Lavrov demands the US release Russian spy Maria Butina
According to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry’s official website, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to discuss the improvement of bilateral relations. During the conversation, Lavrov stressed “the unacceptability of the actions of U.S. authorities, who have arrested Russian citizen Maria Butina in the United States on the basis of fabricated charges, and the need for her early release.”
Maria Butina is accused violating U.S. law, falling under a legal provision that defines anyone attempting to influence the U.S.’s foreign policy for a foreign government as a “foreign agent.” According to these accusations, Butina worked with a high-powered Russian official and two unidentified U.S. citizens to attempt infiltration of a U.S. Pro-Gun Rights Organization. Additionally, Butina and her colleagues allegedly worked to influence the United States’ foreign policy toward Russia.