--- title: Russia Tells U.S. That Arrest of Butina Is Unacceptable description: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the U.S. arrest of suspected foreign agent Maria Butina is unacceptable. canonical: https://time.com/5345078/russian-diplomat-spy-maria-butina/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-07-21T16:33:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T20:55:03.886Z article:section: Politics og:title: Russian Diplomat Calls for the Release of Suspected Foreign Agent Maria Butina og:description: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the arrest is 'unacceptable' og:url: https://time.com/5345078/russian-diplomat-spy-maria-butina/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c75b4148296ab19/698935e27cdbac0b16d5d78b/russian-diplomat-butina-arrest-unacceptable.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5184 og:image:height: 2916 og:image:alt: Russian-Diplomat-Butina-arrest-unacceptable og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Russian Diplomat Calls for the Release of Suspected Foreign Agent Maria Butina twitter:description: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the arrest is 'unacceptable' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c75b4148296ab19/698935e27cdbac0b16d5d78b/russian-diplomat-butina-arrest-unacceptable.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Russian Diplomat Calls for the Release of Suspected Foreign Agent Maria Butina > Sponsored content. 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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Anatoly Medetsky / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Anatoly Medetsky / Bloomberg Contributor Jul 21, 2018 4:33 PM UTC  Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during an annual meeting with ambassadors, permanent representatives and other Foreign Affairs Ministry employees in Moscow, Russia on July 19, 2018. Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during an annual meeting with ambassadors, permanent representatives and other Foreign Affairs Ministry employees in Moscow, Russia on July 19, 2018.Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images by [Anatoly Medetsky / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Anatoly Medetsky / Bloomberg Contributor Jul 21, 2018 4:33 PM UTC (Bloomberg) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the U.S. arrest of Russian Maria Butina on suspicion of trying to infiltrate Republican circles and acting as an unregistered foreign agent was unacceptable. In a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, the top Russian diplomat said the charges against Butina were fabricated and called for her prompt release, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. Butina was ordered jailed in the U.S. on July 19 until her trial on charges she conspired to establish a back channel between Russians and American politicians. She faces an additional charge of operating in the U.S. as an unregistered agent of Russia. Prosecutors said she had ties to Russia’s intelligence services and oligarchs who could offer her safe harbor. She pled not guilty. Among other issues, Lavrov and Pompeo also discussed possible cooperation between Russia, the U.S. and other countries in solving Syria’s humanitarian crisis. They also talked about efforts to denuclearize the Korean peninsula. The case is U.S. v. 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