Earlier, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called for the immediate release of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, whom a court in Moscow sentenced to 3.5 years behind bars in a financial misdemeanor case. The ruling was to replace Navalny's suspended sentence in the same case due to his breach of conditions set in the court's original verdict.
"For a couple of weeks we have been in a state of comments and responses to such attacks and statements. There is no need to interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. And we recommend everyone to tackle their own problems. Believe me, and I think you know this, there are enough of own problems in these countries, there are plenty of issues to deal with," Zakharova told the RBC broadcaster.
More than 15 employees of the embassies of different countries, including European ones, arrived at the Moscow City Court for a hearing on the replacement of Navalny's suspended sentence with a real prison term. According to Zakharova, the presence of foreign diplomats at the Navalny trial was interference in Russia's internal affairs and self-exposure of the West's attempts to restrain Russia
Meanwhile, Navalny supporters have started to gather for an unauthorized rally at Moscow's Manezhnaya Square, a Sputnik correspondent said.
