A top Russian official strongly denied Wednesday a report that Moscow may have been behind the alleged drugging of two US diplomats in St. Petersburg and suggested instead that the pair may simply have been drunk.
"We are outraged,"
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in a statement
posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry website, adding the claim may
have been the work of the US State Department seeking "revenge" for the
collapse of talks between the two counties to address the situation in
Syria.
Russia's denial came after a report two days ago by
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that the diplomats -- a man and a woman
who were not senior officials -- allegedly had their drinks spiked with
a date-rape drug while attending a United Nations convention on
corruption last November. The report, attributed to anonymous sources,
said the State Department quietly protested the incident to Russian
officials.
The story also said one of the diplomats had been treated at a "Western medical clinic" - which Russia said was not true.
"A
probe conducted by Russia revealed that at the time no Americans had
sought treatment at any St. Petersburg medical institutions," Ryabkov
said. "If, alternatively, they had just been boozing at a hotel bar,
they have only themselves to blame."
He
added that Russian investigators at the time responded "promptly" to
information from the US Embassy, but that when they asked for "more
specificity to their complaints" the Americans did not respond, not even
to provide the names of the "victims."
While the State Department has declined to comment on the report, US
officials have expressed concern generally over the treatment of
American diplomats in Russia.
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