Kiev Says Supports Minsk's Defense of Sovereignty After Arrest of Russian Citizens

KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st August, 2020) Ukraine stands behind Belarus when it comes to sovereignty and economic security issues, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Friday during a phone conversation with his Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Makei following the arrest of alleged Russian mercenaries near Minsk.

Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian prosecutor general's office said that Kiev would request extradition of 28 people, nine of which are Ukrainian citizens arrested in Belarus to try them for alleged crimes during the armed conflict in Donbas.

"Belarus and Ukraine are not just partners, but neighbors and friends. We support Belarus on the issues of defending its sovereignty and economic security," Kuleba said, according to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

The Ukrainian side thanked Minsk for providing the list of the detainees at a short notice, adding that it will be checked by its specialized authorities.

The Belarusian state-run news agency Belta first reported on Wednesday that more than 30 Russian nationals had been detained on allegations that they were attempting to destabilize the country's political landscape ahead of the upcoming presidential election.

Belarusian Security Council State Secretary Andrei Ravkov said later that a criminal probe into the preparation of terrorist attacks was launched in connection with the detention of over 30 Russians believed to be members of the Wagner Group private military company.

In response to the detention, the Kremlin refuted as "slander" claims that Russia could have tasked anyone with destabilizing the situation in Belarus ahead of the presidential election there. Moscow added that Russia even had no such legal term as "private military company" and the government was not aware of any such functioning military enterprises.

On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the detained Russians were staffers of a private security firm who were using Belarus as a transit point and were due to go to Istanbul but had missed their flight.