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Putin discusses Belarus groundless detention of Russians with Security Council

MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and permanent members of the national Security Council have discussed unfounded detention of Russian citizens in Minsk, expressing hope that they will be released, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday following the meeting.

"A detailed conversation took place about the incident involving the detention of Russian citizens in Belarus," he said. "Hope was voiced that this story will be clarified soon, and the groundlessly detained Russian citizens will be released," the spokesman noted.

The Russian leader held the meeting via videoconference. According to the Kremlin representative, the meeting also traditionally focused on social and economic issues on the domestic agenda.

Detention of Russians

Earlier, Belarus reported that 33 Russian citizens were detained in the early hours of July 29, Minsk described most of them as employees of a foreign private military company.

The Belarusian foreign ministry demanded explanations from Russian Ambassador Dmitry Mezentsev regarding the aims for their arrival in the country. The ministry also invited acting head of the Ukrainian embassy in Minsk Pyotr Vrublevsky "considering the confirmed information that some detainees were fighting in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Lugansk Regions. Following the meeting, the sides agreed to boost monitoring over the border section between the two states.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Moscow was yet to receive full information about the events, including any illegal actions that prompted the detentions. According to him, Moscow does not recognize Ukrainian citizenships of some of these people. Additionally, Peskov slammed claims of any links between these events and the upcoming presidential election in Belarus as speculations.

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Vladimir Putin Belarus

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