Russian Community Coordinating Council head calls US charges against her 'absurd'
The US is charging individuals to further pressure Russia, but the RCCC confirms the charges are "baseless, absurd, and far-fetched."
The Russian Community Coordinating Council (RCCC) head in the US, Elena Branson, told Sputnik that the charges by Washington against her are absurd.
Earlier in the week, the US justice department stated that a New York federal court charged the dual US-Russian national with allegedly acting as an illegal foreign agent of Russia without registering with the US government.
"I consider the accusations that were brought against me to be baseless, absurd, and far-fetched," Branson argued.
Read more: Who is with or against sanctions on Russia?
The RCCC head said that she had been actively involved with the Russian community in the United States over the past 10 years and had partaken in various projects to preserve the Russian language and the cultural and historical heritage of Russian Americans, as well as strengthening humanitarian ties and dialogue between citizens of the two countries.
"My public activities were open, transparent, and non-political, and information about all ongoing events was published on websites and social networks," she added.
She affirmed that the US charges have been imposed as part of a campaign against Russia.
The charges come in light of Russia's special operation in Ukraine, in response to years-long Ukrainian aggression on Donbass and the advancement of NATO-allied neo-Nazis closer to the Russian border from Ukraine.