The Arrest of Russians in Belarus Does Not Align with Moscow and Minsk's Allied Relations

The Kremlin expects that the Russians detained in Belarus on the night of July 29 will be released soon. This was stated by Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of Russia, to reporters, as reported by TASS.

According to him, no information has been provided so far to justify the arrest of the Russian citizens. "But we hope and are even confident that our Belarusian partners will clarify this incident very soon and release the Russian citizens," Peskov said.

He clarified that the detainees had not done anything illegal, and their presence in Belarus was not related to Belarusian affairs in any way. "We can now say with great confidence that these Russian citizens arrived in Belarus by train; they were supposed to transit by air to another country, and their arrival is not connected to Belarus itself or any Belarusian affairs," the Kremlin representative stated, adding that the Russians were employees of a private security company who had missed their flight and were waiting for their connection, "they had tickets to Istanbul."

In Peskov's opinion, the detention of Russian citizens in Belarus does not correspond to the allied relations between Moscow and Minsk. "Undoubtedly, the unjustified detention of Russian citizens, specifically 33 individuals, does not fit within the framework of allied relations, which is unquestionable," he declared.

"This is precisely why we hope that our Belarusian partners will clarify this incident soon and free the citizens," Peskov emphasized.