Russia?€™s Foreign Ministry has claimed that reports of an American diplomat being assaulted by Russian law enforcement are ?€?made up,?€? the Meduza news website reported Thursday.
The Washington Post newspaper published a report Wednesday that a security guard in the uniform of Russia?€™s Federal Security Service (FSB) had assaulted an American diplomat outside the U.S. embassy in Moscow, breaking the man?€™s shoulder.
Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry?€™s official spokesperson responded to the report in an interview published Thursday on the ministry?€™s website.
?€?A suspicious person wearing a hat pulled down low over his face got out of a taxi and rushed toward the entrance. The policeman on duty wished to check the man?€™s documents but the unknown man hit him in the face with his elbow. In the ensuing scuffle the man pushed the policeman away and hid himself in the embassy,?€? said Zakharova.
Zakharova said that the American diplomat was a CIA agent returning from a mission and whose diplomatic passport was nothing but a cover.
?€?The broken shoulder is just from the realm of fantasy,?€? she said.
?€?We again regret that Washington continually aims to ruin relations with provocation and disinformation.?€?
The Washington Post has previously reported systematic intimidation of U.S. diplomatic staff by Russia?€™s security forces.