Russia’s handling of mass unsanctioned protests over looming city council elections in Moscow is an internal affair, but some Western nations are meddling in them, Beijing said.

China supports Russia’s rebuke of some foreign nations that have used the protests in Moscow to meddle in the country’s domestic affairs, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

“We have concerns over certain Western nations, which jump out of nowhere and conduct untoward actions” in relation to the protests, Geng Shuang said at a media briefing. He said Beijing supports the efforts of the Russian government to keep the situation within the rule of law.

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The Russian capital has seen a series of unsanctioned protests take place in recent weeks over what participants call the unfair treatment of opposition candidates, who were excluded from the September election to the city legislature. Some of the protesters violated Russian laws on mass gatherings, and were met with police counteraction, with hundreds arrested. Some Russian officials said foreign governments have been fueling the demonstrations.

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