MOSCOW. Oct 19 (Interfax) - Mikhail Bochkaryov, an employee of the Federation Council administration, has been released from custody in Norway and will return to Russia shortly, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said.
"I welcome the information received from the Russian embassy in Norway pertaining to the release of Federation Council administration employee Bochkaryov," the Federation Council's press service quoted Matviyenko as saying.
"As far as I know, our consular workers will pick up Bochkaryov. The Russian ambassador in Oslo is expecting Mikhail Anatolyevich to arrive at the embassy in the near future. Our employee will be received and take a plane home to reunite with his family and friends," he said.
Matviyenko welcomed "the Norwegian authorities' decision to withdraw their appeal of the decision by a court yesterday" to release Bochkaryov.
"We said from the very first day of the detention that all the accusations brought against our colleague were far-fetched, and the case itself was fabricated," she said.
A great deal of effort has been taken by the Russian Foreign Ministry and on the level of inter-parliamentary diplomacy to restore justice, Matviyenko said.
"I am confident that in the future, relations between our countries will be based on nothing but common sense," she said.