BRUSSELS. June 10 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, citing "information we possess," told a news conference after a Russia-NATO meeting on Thursday that "50 persons of those killed and taken prisoner" during May's violence in the Uzbek city of Andizhan were foreigners.
"Just like NATO countries, we are anxious about what has happened in Uzbekistan. I would like to stress this - we are also anxious. But, unlike others, we are not going to condemn anyone, we are not going to make hasty conclusions from what has happened, nor are we going to put any political pressure on anyone," Ivanov said.
He said Russian assessments of the Andizhan events "partially coincide" with those by NATO.
Asked what underlay a claim that the Andizhan riots had been masterminded from Afghanistan, Ivanov said: "The passport and testimony of a person who has been in the hands of law enforcement agencies are sufficient for the identification of a person. All this is being verified. So there has not been, nor can be, any manipulation here."