MINSK, January 14. /ITAR-TASS/. Belarusian Foreign Ministry confirms that there is a Belarusian citizen on Russian fishing trawler Oleg Naidenov that has been seized in Senegal. “According to information received from the Russian side, in Oleg Naidenov’s crew there is actually a citizen of Belarus,” deputy head of Belarusian Foreign Ministry’s information department Maria Vanshyna said on Tuesday.

She added that, since there is no Belarusian diplomatic post in Senegal, the Foreign Ministry’s consular department works in close coordination with Russian colleagues.

January 3, Senegalese military detained Russian fishing vessel Oleg Naidenov in the Atlantic, 46 miles off the Guinea Bissau cost. Earlier reports said that the vessel’s crew consisted of 62 Russian citizens and 20 residents of Guinea Bissau. The officers detained the ship without explaining reasons. Oleg Naidenov was convoyed to Dakar’s military harbor.

Senegalese authorities believe that the Russian trawler was illegally fishing in Senegal’s economic area. However, according to the ship’s captain, Oleg Naidenov was on the territory Guinea Bissau. The Russian side is preparing a lawsuit to file it in the International Maritime Court in Hamburg.