| JRL HOME | SUPPORT | SUBSCRIBE | RESEARCH & ANALYTICAL SUPPLEMENT | |
Old Saint Basil's Cathedral in MoscowJohnson's Russia List title and scenes of Saint Petersburg
Excerpts from the JRL E-Mail Community :: Founded and Edited by David Johnson

#9 - JRL 8090 - JRL Home
Envoy says progress made with arrested Russians in Qatar

MOSCOW. Feb 27 (Interfax) - Some progress has been made in the efforts to release two Russian nationals being held in Qatar, Russian Foreign Ministry special envoy Mikhail Bogdanov told Interfax on Friday after returning from Doha.

"Some progress has been made, but the matter remains complicated," he said.

"We are determined to insist on the speedy release of our citizens and use every political and diplomatic possibility to do so," Bogdanov said.

The case of the two Russian nationals is being investigated, he said.

Asked whether the Qatari side is ready for contacts to have the problem settled, Bogdanov said: "Contacts are being maintained but the situation is advancing with difficulty."

He said the Russian side had only managed to organize one meeting with the detainees. "It was a fairly long meeting," he added.

"We are working on the matter virtually non-stop," Bogdanov said.

Three Russian nationals were arrested in the early hours of February 19 in Doha on suspicion of involvement in the murder of Chechen separatist figure Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who was killed in Qatar on February 13. One of the Russian citizens had a diplomatic passport and was later freed. The two others, security officers assigned to the Russian Embassy in Qatar, are still being held in custody.