The Russian Foreign Ministry presented a note of protest to the US Embassy in connection with the increasing number of arrests of Russian citizens in third countries at the request of American law enforcement agencies for the purpose of extradition to the United States. A message about this was published on September 4 on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

At a meeting with an invited representative of the American embassy, Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian Foreign Ministry's commissioner for human rights, democracy and the rule of law, called on the United States to stop the practice of prosecuting Russians on charges that Moscow considers dubious. If such actions continue, the Russian side has threatened to take retaliatory measures.

Earlier, on September 2, the Foreign Ministry called on Russian citizens to refrain from traveling abroad if they “have reasonable suspicions that American law enforcement agencies have any claims against them.” It was especially recommended to avoid visiting countries that have reciprocal extradition treaties with the United States. The Foreign Ministry statement said that Russians are “essentially kidnapped and taken to the United States,” then judged with bias and given wrongful sentences.

The reason for Moscow's dissatisfaction was several recent incidents with the arrests of Russians at American requests. In particular, Dmitry Ustinov was arrested on suspicion of smuggling military equipment in Lithuania, Dmitry Belorossov was arrested on suspicion of fraud in Spain, Maxim Chukharev was arrested on suspicion of money laundering in Costa Rica, and in the Dominican Republic on suspicion of major Internet fraud. Alexandra Panina. In all cases, the United States demanded the extradition of Russian citizens.

The Foreign Ministry cited older trials in the cases of businessman Viktor But, who was sentenced in the United States to 25 years in prison for arms trafficking, and pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who received 20 years for transporting drugs, as examples of biased legal proceedings.

The Russian Foreign Ministry presented the US Embassy with a note of protest in connection with the arrests of Russians