Russian Embassy Ridicules US' Persistent Claims Moscow is 'Isolated'

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United States' commitment to attempts to make Russia seem internationally isolated has started to raise questions even in US media, the Russian embassy in Washington said on Tuesday, citing a recent State Department briefing.

On Monday, State Department spokesman Ned Price's comment in which he said that Russia has become "a pariah" caused a controversy during a briefing as US journalists pointed to Russian officials continuing to carry out foreign visits and engage with the international community on pressing issues as key players.

"Attempts to present our country as isolated one are caused by the 'inflamed imagination' of US officials who are increasingly losing touch with reality. It is noteworthy that the soaked in Russophobia desire of the US State Department to distort the actual picture of events causes confusion not only among us, but also among the American media," the embassy said on Telegram.

The Russian embassy dismissed Price's comment as "baseless statements [that] do not stand up to criticism," citing the progress of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's ongoing tour in Africa, where he was received by the heads of states and the Secretary General of the League of Arab States.

Lavrov started a five-day Africa tour on Saturday. He is scheduled to visit Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda and Congo to discuss bilateral, regional and international agendas, with the emphasis on food security and grain.