MINSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th May, 2021) A Russian diplomat met with Russian citizen Sofia Sapega, who was arrested in Belarus after being taken from a Ryanair flight and detained together with one of the founders of Telegram channel Nexta, Roman Protasevich, the diplomatic mission told Sputnik on Tuesday.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, following a phone conversation between the foreign ministers of Russia and Belarus, Sergey Lavrov and Vladimir Makei, that the republic's authorities had promised to provide consular access to Sapega in the near future. The ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, said that the Russian woman was detained on suspicion of committing crimes in August-September 2020, provided for by several articles of the Criminal Code of Belarus.
"The representative of the embassy met with Russian citizen Sofia Sapega," the diplomatic mission said.
Sapega told Russian diplomats that she felt fine, she did not express complaints about incorrect treatment, Alexey Maskalev, the press attache of the Russian embassy in Belarus, said.
"A permission was received from the Belarusian authorities for consular access, literally at that moment the meeting of our employee, a representative of the embassy, with Sofia, just ended. According to the first information we received from him, I can say that she feels fine. She did not express any special complaints or incorrect treatment by the Belarusian law enforcement agencies," Maskalev told the Rossiya 24 broadcaster.
Russian diplomats are taking all measures to protect the interests of Sapega, Maskalev said.
"We are taking all the necessary actions and measures to protect the interests of our citizen from the very beginning of the situation," he said.
Russia is waiting for official information from Belarus on the measure of restraint for Sapega, Maskalev added.
