Aware of Moscow's 'deliberate mischaracterisation' of US foreign policy, Ambassador Haas’ meetings: Washington

The United States has said it is aware of Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's "deliberate mischaracterisation" of US foreign policy and US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas' meetings.

"The United States does not support any political party in Bangladesh. Nor does the United States favour one political party over another," a State Department spokesperson said on Saturday.

The US State Department reiterated that they want what the Bangladeshi people want: free and fair elections conducted in a peaceful manner.

To support that shared goal of free and fair elections conducted in a peaceful manner, the US embassy personnel engage and will continue to engage with the government, opposition, civil society, and other stakeholders to urge them to work together for the benefit of the Bangladeshi people, said the State Department spokesperson.

Maria Zakharova, during a weekly briefing on November 22, said that Russia has spoken repeatedly about the attempts by the United States and its allies to influence the internal political process in Bangladesh, ostensibly under the banner of ensuring "transparency and inclusiveness" in the upcoming parliamentary election.

Information has come to light regarding a meeting at the end of October between US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas and a high-ranking representative of the local opposition, according to the Russian side.

They reportedly discussed plans to organize mass anti-government protests in the country during the meeting, the Russian side said.

In particular, the American Ambassador "promised" the representative of the opposition information support in the event that the authorities use force against participants in "peaceful demonstrations."

These assurances were purportedly made on behalf of the embassies of the United States, Britain, Australia and several other countries, according to a Facebook post shared by the Russian Embassy in Dhaka.

"How can these actions of the American Ambassador to Bangladesh be regarded? They can be seen as nothing less than gross interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state on the part of Washington and its satellites, demonstrating open disregard for the norms and rules enshrined in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," the Russian spokeswoman said.

"On our part, we have no doubts regarding the ability of the Bangladeshi authorities to hold the parliamentary election scheduled for January 7, 2024, in full compliance with national legislation, independently, without the help of overseas well-wishers," said the Russian spokeswoman.