The Russian Foreign Ministry responded to the detention of 33 Russian citizens in Belarus. The foreign ministry emphasized that Moscow calls on Minsk to abandon whipping up "unnecessary negative emotions" during the presidential elections in Belarus.
"It is necessary to stop whipping up unnecessary, especially during the presidential elections, negative emotions," the statement on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry says.
Recall that the presidential elections in Belarus are scheduled for August 9, 2020. In addition to the current head of state Alexander Lukashenko, four more candidates are registered, including Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the wife of blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky, who is in custody in criminal cases. The day before, a rally in support of her took place, to which, according to media reports, several tens of thousands of people came. There is no official data on the number of participants in the action.
The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that "an attempt to present what happened as external interference in the affairs of the republic is at least puzzling." It is emphasized that Minsk has all the necessary documents to establish the truth.
“The odious interpretation of the detention of 33 Russian citizens by the Belarusian side does not stand up to criticism. As of today, we know that this group was in transit through Minsk to Istanbul, having in hand all the necessary documents, including air tickets, "the Russian Foreign Ministry explained.
At the same time, it is indicated that a Belarusian company was engaged in the logistics of the detained Russians, who for unknown reasons did not get on their flight. The Russians were forced to stay in Belarus to purchase tickets for another flight, the ministry said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on Minsk to immediately provide access to consular staff.
“We count on a balanced objective approach of the Belarusian side to establishing all the circumstances of what happened in close cooperation with the Russian side,” the ministry concluded.
Earlier, the Kremlin rejected accusations of the involvement of the Russian side in organizing mass protests in Belarus. According to the press secretary of the president Dmitry Peskov, Russia expects to receive "comprehensive information" about what happened in Belarus.
“Our ambassador communicates with the Foreign Ministry and colleagues in Minsk, so we expect that as a result of this communication, as well as through the channels of communication between the special services, we will receive comprehensive information about what happened. Of course, we will count on the fact that the rights of the detained Russian citizens will be fully respected, ”Peskov said.
The Kremlin spokesman called the statements about Russia's "involvement" in the protests in the neighboring republic "insinuations." He also denied information that there were allegedly Ukrainian citizens among the detainees.
- © Video screenshot: "Belarus 1"
On Wednesday, July 29, the Belarusian news agency BELTA reported about the arrest of 32 Russians near Minsk, who allegedly are “fighters of a foreign private company Wagner,” one more was detained in the south of Belarus.
In addition, BelTA reported on the alleged arrival of more than 200 people in Belarus "to destabilize the situation during the election campaign."
President of the Republic Alexander Lukashenko held an urgent meeting with members of the Security Council. According to him, an "emergency" happened.
“We need to turn to the Russian media, including Telegram channels, so that, as Putin says, they do not drive the blizzard. If we are guilty, we need to get out of this situation with dignity, we are not guilty - well, we have no goals to discredit the country close to us, ”the Belarusian leader said.
On July 30, the Secretary of State of the Security Council of Belarus Andrei Ravkov said that a criminal case was opened against the detained Russians under the article “preparation of a terrorist act”.
“At present, the issue of applying to them a preventive measure in the form of detention is being decided. We continue to carry out investigative actions and operational-search measures aimed at identifying the persons involved in the preparation and organization of mass riots in the country, ”the statement of the Investigative Committee of Belarus said.