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No Russian crew onboard An-72 airplane detained at Kabul airport

The airplane An-72, which was detained at the Kabul airport and was leased by a company from the United Arab Emirates

MOSCOW, November 16 (Itar-Tass) —— The airplane An-72, which was detained at the Kabul airport and was leased by a company from the United Arab Emirates, was carrying no Russian crew, a diplomatic source in the Russian Foreign Ministry told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

“According to the available reports from the Russian Embassy in Kabul, the Afghan authorities detained an An-72 airplane without the crew at the Kabul airport,” the Russian diplomatic source said. “The airplane was leased by the Aerospace Company registered in the United Arab Emirates. The lack of a valid registration caused the detention,” the source said.

“In this situation the Russian state interests and human rights of our citizens were not affected,” the source said.

The Tajik news agency Avesta earlier reported that Afghan authorities detained the Russian airplane An-72 at the Kabul airport. The fact whether the crew was staying onboard the airplane and their fate were not reported.