Zakharova: Russian citizens should not become hostages to political circumstances

ArmInfo. Russian citizens should not become hostages to political expediency, stated Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova at a briefing for journalists today, responding to a question about the systematic detention of Russian citizens in Armenia at the request of third countries. The question stated that this issue was raised several months ago by Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko during a telephone conversation with Armenian National Assembly Speaker Ruben Rubinyan.

«As you know, a number of Western countries have literally declared a hunt for Russian citizens worldwide, and unfortunately, Armenia is no exception, as five Russian citizens have been detained in the republic since the beginning of the year at the request of foreign countries. "The charges brought against them often bear no basis in reality, and this is obvious even to the average citizen who can verify this information," Zakharova noted.

According to a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, this state of affairs is causing serious concern for the Russian side. "Our diplomats regularly visit our compatriots held in relevant institutions. There are reports that the health of some of them has worsened," she noted.

As Zakharova reported, more than a year ago, the Russian side proposed a legal solution to resolve this issue to their Armenian partners through the signing of a bilateral agreement. Moreover, the draft submitted to Yerevan for consideration took into account the wishes of the Armenian side. However, Zakharova said, "we still haven't received any substantive response."

"Russian citizens should not become hostages to political expediency. Therefore, we will continue to keep this situation under close scrutiny and make every effort to secure their release," Zakharova noted.