Russian President Vladimir Putin’s desire to question and prosecute a former U.S. ambassador and other American officials is “absurd,” a State Department official said Wednesday.

“The overall assertions that have come out of the Russian government are absolutely absurd,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. “The fact that they want to question 11 American citizens and the assertions that the Russian government is making about those American citizens — we do not stand by those assertions that the Russian government makes.”