Russia says Moscow views Navalny’s allies as NATO agents

Russia’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that Moscow viewed members of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s Anti-corruption Foundation as “agents of influence” acting on behalf of NATO.

Maria Zakharova, the foreign ministry’s spokeswoman, said representatives of the European Union, Britain and the United States that are also NATO members met with Navalny’s allies on Monday and gave them instructions on how to disrupt Russian politics.

Meanwhile, an ally of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on Tuesday announced plans for a new nationwide protest in support of the jailed politician, telling Russians to gather in residential courtyards on Sunday evening and turn on their mobile phone torches.

Tens of thousands have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest against the incarceration of Navalny, a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, who says he is being persecuted for political reasons.

Police detained over 11,000 people who took part in what they said were unsanctioned protests which the Kremlin condemned as illegal and dangerous.

(Reporting by Anton Kolodyazhnyy; writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Catherine Evans)