Moscow rejects Washington’s claims of religious persecution in Russia

MOSCOW, Jun.04 (YPA) – The Russian Embassy in the United States has rejected  Washington’s accusations of “systematic and gross” violations of religious rights in Russia, stressing that tolerance is “Russian-type.”

The embassy said in a statement that the “traditional rebukes” contained in the US annual report on religious freedoms in the world come from “rudely pasting descriptions of unwanted states in order to find an excuse to interfere in their internal affairs.”

“Russia was originally formed as a multinational and sectarian state. It is the nature of Russians to build relations of mutual respect and tolerance with representatives of different ethnic groups and religions,” the statement read.

The statement  stressed  that “protecting the rights of believers is our absolute priority and there is no religious persecution we have.”

The embassy accused the United States of fomenting sectarian tensions in the Middle East, North Africa and the former Yugoslavia for its geopolitical interests, noting that “such actions have always caused conflicts and large numbers of casualties.”

E.M