MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Moscow has publicly disclosed a diplomatic note addressed to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry for a request to meet with the two Russian nationals detained by Ukrainian forces.
С первого дня задержания на территории Украины российских граждан А.Александрова и Е.Ерофеева российские дипломаты как…
Posted by МИД России on Tuesday, May 26, 2015
The Russian Foreign Ministry published on its Facebook page a sсreenshot of the diplomatic note dated May 19, 2015. The note sent by the Russian Embassy in Ukraine to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's Consular Service contained Moscow's request to visit the detained citizens.
“We needed to resort to the publication of a diplomatic document, a note from the Russian Embassy in Ukraine dated May 19 of this year addressed to the department of consular services of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. The document was personally handed to the director of the department of consular services, A. Sibige…The publication of the diplomatic mail was a needed measure, but it gives understanding to the validity of [media] publications that have appeared recently.”
The Russian Defense Ministry has dismissed allegations that the nationals were active-duty servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces, demanding their immediate release.
Both Russian nationals are facing terrorism charges in Ukraine. According to Ukrainian Security Service spokesman Vitaly Naida, Alexandrov and Yerofeyev may receive prison terms of at least 15 years.
