The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that it will not ask foreign governments to extradite thousands of Russians who fled the country to escape the mobilization to fight in Ukraine.
“The Russian Defense Ministry, within the framework of partial mobilization, has not sent, has not prepared and will not send requests to the authorities of Kazakhstan, Georgia and other countries on the issue of the alleged forced return to Russia of Russian citizens there. ”, he said in a statement.
Since the announcement of a “partial” military mobilization of reservists on September 21, tens of thousands of Russian men of fighting age have fled abroad, particularly to the former Soviet republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus. A note from Russian intelligence, published by the media on Monday. Novaya Gazetahe even estimates the number of these voluntary exiles at 261,000.
The protection of Kazakh power
If a Russian citizen receives a summons and fails to report to a military police station, he or she can theoretically be considered a deserter and placed on Russia’s wanted list. Cited by the Interfax agency, the Kazakh Minister of the Interior, Marat Akhmetjanov, indicated Tuesday that Astana would be contraint d’extrader des Russes fuyant la mobilization seulement dans le cas où ces derniers seraient placés sur la liste officielle des personnes recherchées in Russia.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has promised to protect mobile Russians who have fled to Kazakhstan, while relations between Astana and Moscow have suffered a cold snap since the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
Source: BFM TV
