Dhaka, Dec 7 (PTI) Russian ambassador to Dhaka on Thursday said Moscow would stand with Bangladesh against possible US or any Western sanction.

“We are against any illegal actions here (Bangladesh). We will be against any sanctions or steps which can be taken by America or Western countries here,” Ambassador Alexander Mantytskiy said during an interaction with a group of journalists.

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The Russian ambassador was replying to a question on what would be Moscow's stand if any western economic sanction was imposed against Bangladesh.

Mantytskiy asserted that other then any sanction slapped by the UN Security Council, Russia does not recognise any ban imposed unilaterally by any Western nation.

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He, however, hoped that no such situation would arise but added, “Let's see what happens”.

The Russian envoy reiterated Moscow's standpoint over US policy towards Bangladesh centring the upcoming January 7 general elections with Washington insisting that the polls should be credible and inclusive.

“Yes, of course,” Mantytskiy said in reply to a question on whether Washington was interfering in Bangladesh's internal affairs centring the upcoming elections.

Bangladesh politics became the focus of a war of words between the US and Russia last month as Washington accused Moscow of making "deliberate mischaracterisation" of its foreign policy relating to the upcoming elections in the South Asian nation.

During a regular weekly briefing in Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova had claimed that US ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas and a high-ranking representative of the local opposition discussed plans to organise mass anti-government protests in the country during the meeting.

Reacting to her statement, a US State Department spokesperson in Washington said, “We are aware of Zakharova's deliberate mischaracterisation of US foreign policy and Ambassador Haas's meetings.”

The US on Wednesday again condemned the Kremlin comments, terming the “interference” allegation a "classic Russian propaganda".

"Look, back in the Navy, we had a single two-syllable word to describe an allegation like that, which I will spare you from. This is just classic Russian propaganda," US National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby told reporters in a media briefing in Washington.

Mantytskiy said Russia remained committed to strengthening cooperation with Dhaka in a meaningful and respectful way.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)