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Planned negotiations with Senegalese authorities over detained ship not held

The Senegalese military detained the Russian trawler Oleg Naidenov in a tough operation 46 miles off Guinea Bissau's coast in early January

RABAT, January 08, 9:04 /ITAR-TASS/. Negotiations between a Russian delegation and Senegalese authorities over the detention of a Russian trawler, which were planned for Tuesday evening, did not begin, a Russian official told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

"We hope for a meeting with Senegal's President Macky Sall to tell him about our concerns, said Alexander Biryukov, an official of the Russian Federal Fishery Agency (Rosrybolovstvo).

"We are working and will be working on all the levels to settle the situation -- with officials of the Fishery Ministry and other departments," he said. "We will demand the matter be cleared up, but the main thing is that we will demand to free the vessel."

The Senegalese military detained the Russian trawler Oleg Naidenov in a tough operation 46 miles off Guinea Bissau's coast in early January. Some sailors aboard the trawler were injured. The ship was escorted to the port of Dakar.

Sixty two Russian citizens, mostly sailors from the Murmansk Region, and 20 citizens of Guinea Bissau are aboard the Oleg Naidenov. The crew remain aboard under control of Senegalese law enforcers. The sailors' documents were seized when they were detained.