NEW YORK, April 28. /TASS/. Russian schoolchildren are expected to be among passengers of a special Aeroflot flight from New York to Moscow scheduled for Tuesday, Russia’s Ambassador to US Anatoly Antonov said in a statement.
"We placed emphasis on the humanitarian side when the list of passengers was compiled. It includes elderly people undergoing post-surgical rehabilitation, and, naturally, our schoolchildren who found themselves here under some sort of educational programs," Antonov said in a statement, posted on the embassy’s Facebook page.
"We are trying to bring from 15 states Russian children, who found themselves in a difficult situation in the United States. The majority of those schoolchildren will have to make several layovers [on the way to New York]. I would like to stress that for several schoolchildren, the journey to New York was financed with money raised by our diplomats," the Russian diplomat continued.
Russian diplomats "maintain contact with parents of underage Russians," the statement says.
"We are doing our best to deliver the teenagers to the flight in time," Antonov added.
According to the ambassador, the problem of Russian children stranded in the United States "will not be solved completely" by Tuesday’s flight.
"We still have a lot of work to do to determine the exact number of schoolchildren who became stranded here, their names and contact information," Antonov added. "We are ready to continue helping those who need to return to Russia."
According to the JFK airport's website, the departure of the Russian plane is scheduled for 19:20 local time on Tuesday (02:20 Moscow time on Wednesday).
Significant assistance
The ambassador said that the Russian Youth of America organization makes a "significant contribution" in helping Russian schoolchildren to arrive to the airport in time.
"Some of those who arrived beforehand were accommodated in families," Antonov said. "They [the organization] also help those whom US families refused to transport from remote areas to local airports."
According to the organization’s president Igor Kochan, at least 19 Russian schoolchildren are expected to board the Aeroflot plane on Tuesday. They arrived to New York from Florida, Illinois, Georgia, Rhode Island and other states.
Russian Foreign Ministry’s stance
The Russian Foreign Ministry will not turn a blind eye to US reluctance in helping Russia find its school students who are stuck in the country amid the coronavirus pandemic, Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing on April 23.
According to her, the US has brushed aside requests from the Russian Embassy. "That is why, Russian diplomats in Washington and in the US have to deal with that issue independently," she pointed out. "We will of course draw conclusions from this behavior by US officials," Zakharova stressed.
According to her, about 80 Russian students have been staying in the US since last autumn.
"So far, the embassy has managed to identify 42 people. Eight of them have already returned to Russia, while 34 remain in different parts of the US. Many of them want to return back home as soon as possible," she said.