The journalist reminded Lavrov of Moscow’s statement that US President Donald Trump allegedly decided to release two Russian sailors, and asked the minister whether they had returned to their homeland.
The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry responded that allegedly immediately after the seizure of the tanker, the Russians turned to the American side with an “urgent request.”
“The main thing for us was to release our citizens. There are two of them, along with citizens of Ukraine, Georgia and India. We were assured, in fact, on the same day or the next morning that the decision to release them was made at the highest level. But, unfortunately, the following days showed that this decision was not being implemented,” Lavrov claims.
According to him, Moscow expects its “American colleagues” to fulfill the promise allegedly given by Washington.
Lavrov also criticized the seizure of the tanker, which in fact received Russian registration after it began to evade the US Coast Guard in the Caribbean, was previously called Bella 1 and flew the flag of Guyana.
Context
The US military seized the tanker Marinera on January 7 in the Atlantic Ocean near Iceland. The Russian ships that were nearby at that time did not interfere with the American special operation. The United States took control of the tanker for violating sanctions against Venezuela.
The crew members of the Marinera tanker did not comply with orders from the US Coast Guard, so all those involved are now being Criminal charges will be brought, the US Prosecutor General's Office reported.
