“Mr. Secretary, the Russians don’t believe the intelligence,” she began during the pair’s press conference in Moscow. “How confident are you, Mr. Secretary—?"
Mitchell was unable to finish her question, as Lavrov interjected.
“Who was bringing you up?” Lavrov asked Mitchell in English, before switching to Russian. “Who was giving you your manners, you know?”
Lavrov’s rebuke of Mitchell, NBC's chief foreign affairs correspondent, came during Tillerson's first visit to Russia since becoming President Trump’s secretary of State and amid growing tension between the U.S. and Russia over Syrian President Bashar Assad's recent actions during his nation's ongoing civil war.
Trump ordered a missile strike in Syria last week following reports that forces loyal to Assad conducted a chemical strike on Syrian citizens in the northern part of the country.
Lavrov earlier Wednesday accused the U.S. of an “unlawful attack” against Syria, adding that Moscow would not abandon its longstanding support of Assad.
Mitchell was escorted from a State Department press conference in March after repeatedly trying to question Tillerson about China and Russia.
The veteran reporter on Monday criticized Tillerson for shunning the press when making major diplomatic trips.
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