“These people testified that they had been sent specially to Belarus. The team was waiting, ”Lukashenka said while addressing the parliament and the people.
He called “lies” and “legend” the statements that Russian citizens flew to Istanbul.
On July 29, the BELTA news agency reported that 33 Russians had been detained in Belarus. Minsk suspects them of preparing riots.
The Kremlin said that the detainees did not commit illegal actions and had all the necessary documents. The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out to Ambassador of Belarus Vladimir Semashko that the detention of Russian citizens was groundless.
Russian Consul in Minsk Kirill Pletnev, after talking with the detainees, said that “on July 25 they were all supposed to fly from Minsk airport to Istanbul, and then to a third country,” and the final destination was one of the states in the Latin American region.