Detention Of Russians In Belarus Could Have Been Provoked By 3rd Country - Ambassador

MINSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th August, 2020) There is some evidence proving that the detention of 33 Russian citizens near Minsk was a provocation staged by a third country to complicate the Russian-Belarusian relations, Russian Ambassador to Belarus Dmitry Mezentsev told reporters.

In late July, Belarus said it had detained 33 Russian citizens and claimed that they were members of a private military company. Belarusian investigators said they were suspecting the detained of preparing unrest in the country ahead of the upcoming presidential vote. The Russian presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that the detained were likely to be staffers of a private security firm en route to another country and did not break any laws. Russia's Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper reported on Thursday that the incident took place as a result of a provocation staged by the Ukrainian security services.

"On August 6-7, employees of the consular department of the Russian Embassy in Belarus held meetings with 33 Russian citizens detained near Minsk, who still do not understand causes of their arrests, as well as the charges of preparing the riots. Today there is strong evidence that this was a provocation that had been prepared from a third country to complicate relations between Russia and Belarus," Mezentsev said on late Friday.

He expressed a belief that the Russian Investigative Committee would confirm that the detention of 33 Russian citizens was a result of the provocation staged from abroad.

The diplomat stressed that the detainees had not complained about the conduct of investigative procedures and added that they should be released in the near future.