The accusations by the United States that certain people were working for Russian intelligence were met by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov with a demand for evidence. Peskov said the administration in Washington had not presented convincing evidence.
Speaking at a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday, Peskov said they would not comment on the allegations unless concrete evidence and convincing grounds were presented.
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Tuesday that some Russians in the Southern District of New York had been accused of working for the country’s intelligence community since 2024. Peskov’s statement indicated that the United States had presented no evidence for the accusations.
Japan’s request concerning the Kuril Islands
Peskov also addressed Japan’s request to restart a policy allowing its citizens to travel to the Kuril Islands without visas. He said Moscow did not view Tokyo’s stance toward Russia as friendly and did not expect reciprocal restrictions to be lifted.
Peskov said Japan had joined sanctions against Russia and that the country had been placed on Russia’s list of unfriendly countries. He said reciprocal concessions did not appear possible under these circumstances.