Moscow opposes criminalization of journalists and individuals for their visits to any part of the world, Russian Foreign Minister told a press conference in Moscow on Tuesday.
The FM made the remarks while commenting on the detention of blogger Alexander Lapshin in Belarus at the request of Azerbaijan.
Moscow stands against the extradition of the blogger to a third country, Lavrov noted.
“We have carried out diplomatic work on this issue. At the same time, Lapshin is a citizen of Israel,” the FM said, adding. “Israeli diplomats are also in contact with him. We will take all necessary measures to resolve this issue under the terms of protecting all rights of the Russian citizen. We are working closely with Israelis in this regard.”
Alexander Lapshin, who has multiple citizenships, was detained in Minsk at the request of Azerbaijan as he violated Azerbaijani borders and illegally visited Azerbaijan’s occupied territories.
Alexander Lapshin was included in the blacklist of the Azerbaijani foreign ministry in 2013 due to illegal visit he paid to Nagorno Karabakh along with other bloggers. In 2015, he entered the Azerbaijani territory through Georgia with the Ukrainian passport. As his name was written as Oleksandr in the passport, he managed to enter the country unhindered. The blogger was declared wanted for breaking the law “On violation of the state border” of Azerbaijan.
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