Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told former U.S. President Bill Clinton Tuesday that hopefully the latest Russian spy row in the United States would not jeopardize bilateral ties.
"I hope very much that the positive that was collected recently in our interstate relations will not experience any harm because of the recent events," said Putin as quoted by the Interfax news agency.
"Your police are out of hand, jailing people," said Putin to Clinton.
Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that 11 suspected spies detained in the United States and Cyprus were Russians who did nothing to harm U.S. interests.
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Previous reports said all the detainees were U.S. citizens spying for Russia, some of whom disguised as Canadians.
They were "Russian citizens who found themselves on U.S. territory at different times," said the RIA Novosti news agency.
"They have not committed any actions directed against U.S. interests."