MOSCOW, October 28 (RIA Novosti) — The Embassy of the United States in Russia has seen an increase in pressure on its diplomats, however it refuses to comment on incidents registered in 2014, embassy press attache William Stevens told RIA Novosti Tuesday.
The American TV channel ABC reported Monday of an increase in the number of incidents in which embassy staff in Russia was allegedly intimidated in recent years. Citing anonymous US officials, the channel also reported that a particularly sharp increase was observed in the current year against a backdrop of deteriorating relations between Russia and the United States because of the crisis in Ukraine.
"I have no comments on it. He [the author of the ABC article] quoted a report from last year. Current events are not published," Stevens said.
He explained that the article was based on a 2013 report by the State Department. "These are our internal auditors. They check our diplomatic missions every five years. I can confirm what was written there [in the article]," he added.
The report, which was cited by the channel, in particular states that former Ambassador Michael McFaul was subjected to active pressure. Overall, the 2013 report states that the pressure on the US embassy is at a peak since the Cold War.
