MOSCOW: Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday the arrest in the United States of a 29-year-old woman accused of being a Russian agent was carried out to spoil the positive impact of Monday’s Russia-US summit in Helsinki, RIA news agency reported.
Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was cited as saying there were no grounds for the detention of Russian Maria Butina, who was arrested on Sunday, a day before presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump met in Helsinki.
Butina has been charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian government.