DAMASCUS/MOSCOW. March 5 (Interfax) - The Syrian authorities on Tuesday handed over a German reporter, earlier detained for illegal work in Syria, to Russian diplomats for his subsequent transfer to German officials, said Timur Pechatnikov, press officer of the Russian Embassy in Damascus.
"He has been handed over to Russian diplomats," he told Interfax on Tuesday.
Russia mediated between Syria and Germany, whose embassy was closed in view of the continuing Syrian crisis, he said.
Asked about the German reporter's future, Pechatnikov said he would be handed over to German officials, most likely in Beirut, but it is not known when.
Pechatnikov also said he has no information about where the detained reporter worked, or where he will be held before his handover to German officials.
The Syrian information agency SANA earlier reported that the Syrian authorities had handed over German reporter Billy Six, detained for illegally crossing into Syria late last year, to the Russian Embassy in Damascus.