On Friday, August 7, a telephone conversation took place between the presidents of Russia and Belarus. According to the Kremlin press service, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko exchanged views in connection with the detention of 33 Russian citizens by the Belarusian side.

"They expressed confidence that the situation that has arisen will be resolved in the spirit of mutual understanding characteristic of cooperation between the two countries," the message says.

The Kremlin stressed that Moscow is interested in maintaining a stable internal political situation in Belarus, as well as holding the presidential elections scheduled for August 9 in the republic in a calm atmosphere.

The heads of state also discussed topical issues of “further development of fraternal Russian-Belarusian relations”.

As noted on the website of the press service of the President of Belarus, during the conversation, Putin and Lukashenko emphasized their desire to work together "to sort out this situation in the most serious way."

“The presidents agreed to thoroughly and substantively study every available fact in order to establish the true reasons for the current situation, find the culprits and bring them to justice,” the message says.

The incident with the detention of Russians in Belarus

On July 29, the Belarusian news agency BELTA reported about the arrest of 32 Russians near Minsk and one more in the south of Belarus. The detainees are allegedly fighters of the "foreign private company Wagner". Later, in another material, it was claimed that more than 200 people allegedly arrived in Belarus "to destabilize the situation during the election campaign."

A criminal case was opened against the detainees under Art. 13 (preparation for a crime) and part 2 of Art. 293 of the Criminal Code of Belarus (preparation for riots). They chose a measure of restraint in the form of detention.

At the same time, Minsk handed over to Kiev a list of detained Russians for "checking" for their allegedly possible participation in hostilities in Donbass and the presence of Ukrainian citizenship.

In addition, Alexander Lukashenko discussed the incident with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to him, the issue of extradition of Russians detained in Belarus will be resolved taking into account the international agreements signed by Minsk, Moscow and Kiev.

The Belarusian leader also invited the prosecutors general of Russia and Ukraine to the republic to investigate the situation.

Also on russian.rt.com "Used in the dark": the media called the detention of Russians in Belarus a provocation of the Ukrainian special services

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, commenting on the incident, stressed that the interpretation of the detention of the Russians by the Belarusian side does not stand up to criticism. The Foreign Ministry also called on Minsk "to stop whipping up unnecessary negative emotions." Russian diplomats noted that "an attempt to present what happened as external interference in the affairs of the republic is at least puzzling." 

On July 31, Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the permanent members of the Security Council. During the meeting, a detailed conversation took place about the incident. As the press secretary of the head of state Dmitry Peskov noted, the Russians were in transit in Belarus and did not commit any illegal actions.

On the evening of August 6, the Komsomolskaya Pravda edition, citing a source in the Russian special services, reported that the detention of 33 Russians in Belarus was a provocation by the Ukrainian special services. As noted by the KP, "a comprehensive audit of Russian law enforcement agencies shows that those who decided to earn extra money while guarding abroad were simply used in the dark."

The publication emphasized that the SBU "managed to create a fake project, which involved 180 Russian citizens."

Kp.ru added that the materials on the special operation were transferred to the Investigative Committee of Russia.

Later, the press service of Rosneft indicated that the former head of the RN-Zapad company Sergei Rustamov, who allegedly offered work to the Russians, had not been working in Minsk for a year. According to the company, the man permanently lives in Samara and has not left the city over the past year. In addition, the signature of Rustamov, as well as the seal and details of the company are grossly forged, the company stressed.

“None of the other persons mentioned in the article in connection with the company have ever worked for Rosneft and had nothing to do with it,” the press service stated.