MOSCOW. Jan 25 (Interfax) - Russia has not received any extradition requests for two of its citizens in the context of the Beirut port explosion, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office told Interfax on Friday, in response to the relevant enquiry.
"The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has not received any requests from the relevant agencies of foreign states for extradition or legal assistance regarding I.V. Grechushkin and B. N. Prokoshev," the office said.
However, extradition would be impossible, even if such requests were received, it said.
"Considering that I.V. Grechushkin and B. N. Prokoshev are citizens of Russia, they cannot be extradited to another state or detained in Russian territory at the request of law enforcement agencies for extradition purposes," the office said.
It was reported earlier that Interpol had issued wanted notices for two Russians and one Portuguese person in a case concerning last year's Beirut port explosions, which claimed about 200 lives.
The Red Notices were issued at the request of Lebanese Attorney General Ghassan El-Khouri against the owner and the captain of the Rhosus vessel, which delivered 2,275 tonnes of ammonium nitrate in 2013. The following year, the cargo was offloaded from the vessel into a warehouse at the port.
Interpol did not name the fugitives, but according to the Lebanese media, at issue are the vessel's former captain Boris Prokoshev and owner Igor Grechushkin, a Cyprus-based Russian businessman. Grechushkin bought the vessel in 2012, the Associated Press reported, citing Lebanese media. The wanted Portuguese man is Jorge Manuel Netu Moreiru, who deals in nitrates and inspected the cargo in 2014.
An Interpol Red Notice does not require a country's authorities to urgently arrest a wanted person; it is a request, not an arrest warrant which must be enforced, the agency said.
In early December, Lebanese prosecutors probing the case charged former Prime Minister Hassan Diab and three former ministers, Ali Hassan Khalil in finance and Ghazi Zaiter and Youssef Fenianos, both of public works. All four are being charged with causing deaths through negligence.
A series of strong explosions rocked Beirut's port zone on August 4, killing around 200 people. The blast wave ripped through many buildings, smashing in windows and doors. The international airport was also damaged.
The Lebanese authorities said the explosions were caused by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate seized by customs six years earlier.