22:13, 8 March 2016

Russia's MFA treats calls to release Savchenko as pressure on the court

The participants of the rally in memory of Boris Nemtsov, who demanded to release Savchenko. Moscow, March 1, 2015. Photo: Wikipedia.org

Statements in defence of the Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, who is tried in the Rostov Region, are attempts to put pressure on the court, said the spokesman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 7 and 8 statements in support of Savchenko were made by the US Secretary of State John Kerry, the foreign policy service of the European Union, as well as activists in Armenia.

Nadezhda Savchenko is accused of involvement in the murder of two Russian journalists near Lugansk and illegally crossing the Ukrainian-Russian border. She is among those recognized as political prisoners by the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".

The next court session on the case of Savchenko will be held on March 9; and the statements made on the eve thereof are the pressure on the court, Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson of the Russian MFA, has written today on the Facebook. Besides, she has commented exclusively on the statement by the US State Department.

Ms Zakharova's record has caused a great resonance; and many users have criticized the statements contained therein. One of them has quoted the Minsk protocol signed by Russia, which contains the point on "exchange of forcibly detained persons according to the formula 'all for all' without any preconditions." Several users expressed support of her statement.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.