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Russian diplomat calls on G7 ambassadors to focus attention on Russians jailed in US

Earlier, they welcomed the return of Ukrainians to homeland after an exchange of detainees between Kiev and Moscow and expressed the hope for "the prompt release" of "the remaining prisoners"

MOSCOW, September 7. /TASS/. Group 7 Ambassadors should draw their attention to the Russian nationals jailed in the United States, including Viktor Bout, Maria Butina and Konstantin Yaroshenko, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, G7 Ambassadors welcomed the return of Ukrainians to homeland after an exchange of detainees between Kiev and Moscow and expressed the hope for "the prompt release" of "the remaining prisoners."

"Dear Ambassadors," Zakharova wrote on Facebook. "We support your hope and are waiting for Butina, Yaroshenko, Bout and many others, who the US authorities are still continuing to hold, [to come] home."

On Saturday afternoon, a plane of the special flight unit Rossiya landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, carrying Russian nationals released in a prisoner swap with Ukraine. A Ukrainian aircraft touched down at Kiev airport at approximately the same time. Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova said that the prisoner swap was carried out in conformity with the ‘35 for 35’ principle.

Military operation in Ukraine

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FACTBOX: Collective Security Treaty Organization

The Collective Security Treaty came into force on April 20, 1994 to herald the emergence what would eventually become the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The six member-countries are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

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