MOSCOW. Aug 3 (Interfax) - Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Vladimir Semashko has been told that the recent detention of 33 Russian citizens in Belarus was groundless and that Moscow insists on a joint unbiased investigation into the situation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko has invited Semashko for a substantive conversation on the condition and prospects of Russian-Belarusian bilateral relations, the ministry said.
"Special significance was attached to the situation surrounding the recent detention of 33 Russian citizens in Belarus. The Russian side stated that the detention of Russian citizens on a groundless and farfetched pretext is inconsistent with the spirit of brotherly allied relations between the two countries and their peoples," it said.
"Russia has never meddled and is not going to meddle in internal processes in other countries, especially in Belarus, which is our closest friend and ally," the ministry said.
"We insist on an unbiased investigation into all circumstances of the incident by our Belarusian partners in close cooperation with their Russian counterparts and on the soonest possible release of the detained Russian citizens," it said.