MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th December, 2020) Two journalists from Russian broadcaster NTV have returned to Moscow after being detained in Turkey's Istanbul, the broadcaster's press service said on Tuesday.
On Monday, the office of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the reporters had been released, taking into account Turkey's cooperation with Russia on this situation.
"Our colleagues, ... Alexey Petrushko and Ivan Malyshkin are already in Moscow. [They] arrived on a night flight. They are alright. We thank the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Russian embassy in Ankara and the Russian Consulate General in Istanbul for their help. And, of course, all the colleagues from media who support us these days," the press service said.
The NTV press service said on December 4 that it lost contact with two of its staffers who were detained in Turkey. According to a source in the Turkish Foreign Ministry, NTV's Petrushko and Malyshkin had no accreditation and were detained for filming without permission in the area where the manufacturer of combat drones, Baykar Savunma, is located. The Istanbul administration confirmed the detention on December 4, adding that the period of detention was extended to three days.
On Monday, a Turkish source familiar with the situation told Sputnik that an Istanbul court released the journalists. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sputnik that the issue was solved through diplomatic channels.
