MOSCOW. Oct 21 (Interfax) - The Kremlin is not aware of reports on the detention in Turkey of a group of Russians supposedly preparing attacks on Chechen opposition activists living there, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"No, we're not aware of that. I recommend you contact the Foreign Ministry," Peskov told reporters in response to the relevant question on Thursday.
"If Russian citizens have been detained, then Turkey should have informed our diplomatic mission and our consular service," he said.
The Anadolu news agency reported on Thursday that a group of Russians, as well as a citizen of Ukraine and a citizen of Uzbekistan, who were plotting attacks on Chechen opposition activists living in Turkey, were detained in early October.
An Istanbul court issued arrest warrants for six suspects detained in the early hours of October 8, Anadolu said. It identified the suspects as Abdula Abdulayev, Ravshan Akhmedov, Bislan Rasayev, and Aslanbek Abdulmuslimov, all of them Russian citizens, as well as Ukrainian citizen Ihor Yefrym and Uzbek citizen Amir Yusupov.
After the suspects were questioned, they were reportedly indicted on a count of political and military espionage. If found guilty, they could face 15 to 20 years of imprisonment.