U.S. espionage charges another round of "anti-Russian" campaign, Moscow says

The espionage charges against Russian citizens demonstrated another round of anti-Moscow campaign by the United States, Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

"Apparently, the U.S. follows 'the worse, the better' principle in an attempt to start another spiral of anti-Russian campaign," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich, referring to charges by Washington against three Russians for their alleged involvement in a Russian spy ring operating in New York City.

The United States on Monday announced criminal charges against Evgeny Buryakov and two others for conspiring to gather economic intelligence on behalf of Russia, including information about U.S. sanctions against the country.

"No evidence has been presented to support those claims," Lukashevich said in a statement.

Moscow demanded an end to "a chain of provocations" against Russian representatives initiated by the U.S. special services, and an immediate release of its citizens.

"The Russia-U.S. relations have been in difficult times for a long time due to Washington's hostile approach," Lukashevich said.

It will be the responsibility of the United States to bear the consequences of such unfriendly actions, which aggravated the atmosphere of bilateral relations and undermined the prospects of cooperation, he said.

Evgeny Buryakov has been arrested and appeared in court on Monday over allegations he was trying to recruit sources and collect economic intelligence, while the rest of the accused, Igor Sporyshev and Victor Podobnyy, who no longer resided in the United States, were charged in absentia.

Earlier Tuesday, Russia's Vnesheconombank confirmed that Buryakov, deputy representative of the bank in New York City, has been arrested.