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Lukashenko, Putin agree to find those responsible for detention of Russians

The Russian president highlighted the need to repel actions by third forces, the BelTA news agency reported on Friday citing the press service of the Belarusian president

MINSK, August 7. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to tackle the issue of 33 Russian citizens detained in Belarus, the BelTA news agency reported on Friday citing the press service of the Belarusian president after the two leaders’ telephone conversation.

"One of the main topics of the conversation was the detention of 33 Russian citizens in Belarus," the report said. "In this regard, the desire to work together to sort out the matter was emphasized. The presidents agreed to thoroughly study every available fact in order to establish the true causes of the current situation, find those responsible and hold them accountable."

The two leaders also discussed in detail the election campaign in Belarus, the report said. "Vladimir Putin, in particular, highlighted the importance of developing fraternal Belarusian-Russian relations and the need to counter negative trends and actions by third forces that could result in their deterioration," the press service noted.

The discussion also included the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and the development of a vaccine, BelTA news agency informed. "In addition to the bilateral agenda, a substantial part of the conversation focused on topical issues of countering the COVID-19 pandemic in the two countries and the development of a vaccine to combat that infection," the report said.

The conversation was initiated by the Russian leader, the report added.