US Intel Giving Diplomatic Bank Transaction Details to Media

The Russian Foregn Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told journalists at her weekly press briefing that Moscow has also called on the US authorities to stop exerting pressure on the Russian diplomatic missions in the US, Sputnik reported.

Russia is surprised by the claims made by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis that the United States is in Syria with the permission of the United Nations, Washington does not have such mandate, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday.

Earlier this week, Mattis said that the presence of the United States in Syria had been approved by the United Nations as Washington was engaged in the fight against the ISIL terrorist group.

"We were surprised to hear US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ statements … that the US armed forces are in Syria with the UN approval. We would like to understand and in order for this question to not remain rhetoric … what specific mandate is this? When was it issued and by whom?” Zakharova said.

However, Russia hopes that the United States will adhere strictly to the agreements reached by the countries’ presidents on fighting terrorism.

Speaking at a briefing, Zakharova said that media outlets were reporting frequently on the United States supporting terrorists, which "cannot be called a fair game.”

"We hope that the US side will adhere strictly to the agreements on fighting terrorism which were recorded in the Russian and US presidents’ joint statement on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in Da Nang on November 11,” she told a briefing.