Russian Foreign Ministry summons ambassadors from the US, UK, and Canada

On April 18, TASS quoted a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry saying: "In connection with gross interference in Russia's internal affairs and activities that do not correspond to diplomatic status, the ambassadors of the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada were summoned by the Foreign Ministry."

TASS also quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying: “Russia considers the statements of British Ambassador Deborah Bronnert unacceptable following Kara-Murza’s sentence and has warned London not to politicize international human rights issues.” Ms. Zakharova also criticized the US and Canadian ambassadors for demanding Kara-Murza’s release.

A day earlier, the three countries criticized Russia's sentencing of opposition activist Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison, and demanded the release of detained American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been charged with espionage.

There has been no comment on the summons from the UK, US and Canada.

Russian state prosecutors have charged Kara-Murza with treason and discrediting the Russian military after spreading deliberately false information about the behavior of Russian troops involved in the special military operation in Ukraine.

According to Tin Tuc Newspaper