The Kremlin says Russian authorities would not pay attention to US calls to release anti-government demonstrators who were detained during protests organised by opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
"We disagree when the question is put this way. This is not the sort of calls we should be listening to," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters.
The United States condemned Russia's crackdown on anti-corruption protesters on Monday, calling on Moscow to release "peaceful" demonstrators detained by the police.
Peskov said the authorities had not acted against protesters who had agreed their actions in advance.
"As for those who indulged in provocative actions, breaking the law, in this case the authorities took action against them in full compliance with our legislation," he said.
Peskov also said Russia took a negative view of a US Senate deal on wider sanctions against Russia.
US senators reached an agreement on Monday on legislation imposing new sanctions on Russia, including a provision that would prevent the White House from easing, suspending or ending sanctions without congressional approval.
Monday's protests against President Vladimir Putin were held in more than a hundred cities and towns across Russia, the patriotic Russia Day holiday, but Navalny was arrested at his home in Moscow before he could join them.
Protesters were detained in dozens of cities, from far-eastern Vladivostok to western-most Kaliningrad, according to anti-corruption watchdog OVD-Info, though there were conflicting reports of exact numbers.
OVD-Info said more than 700 people were taken into custody in Moscow and more than 500 detained in St Petersburg, while state media put the number detained in Moscow at 200.
