New Delhi, Aug 9: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday said that India is awaiting the release of 69 nationals who were recruited into the Russian army, adding, “We take this issue very seriously.”
While addressing the Lok Sabha, Jaishankar also mentioned that action is being taken against those who misled these nationals, following which the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a criminal case against 19 persons and entities.
He added that evidence has surfaced against 10 human traffickers whose identities the government is aware of and two of the accused were arrested on April 24 and two more on May 7.
“We should not jump the gun and say Russians are not serious on this matter. I think it is important to hold the Russian government to their word and most important for us, we are not here to score points or enter debates. We are here to get back those 69 people because Indian citizens should not be serving in the army of foreign countries,” Jaishankar said during the Question Hour.
He was responding to questions from AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi about the actions being taken against individuals who misleading youth into are joining the Russian army and whether India will halt purchasing discounted oil from Russia if it does not secure the release of Indians recruited into its military.
There are 91 cases of Indian nationals being recruited into the Russian army. Out of these, eight have passed away, 14 have either been discharged or returned with the government’s assistance, and 69 are still awaiting release from the Russian army, Jaishankar told the Lok Sabha.
Of the eight who passed away, the mortal remains of four have been returned to India. In two cases, one from Haryana and another from Punjab, DNA samples have been sent to the Russian authorities, he said.
In a case from Gujarat, the family has requested that the body be cremated in Russia, while in a case from Uttar Pradesh, the mortal remains are being brought back to India, Jaishankar added.
He said that the main issue is that Russian authorities assert these Indian nationals had signed contracts to serve in the Russian army.
“We are not necessarily subscribing to that… I think in many cases there are reasons to indicate that our nationals were misled, that they were told that they were going for some other job and then they were deployed with the Russian army,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised the issue of Indian nationals being recruited into the Russian army during his meeting with President Vladimir Putin last month.
“We take this issue very very seriously. I have myself raised it numerous times with the Russian foreign minister…When the prime minister was in Moscow last month, he raised it personally with President Putin and got the assurance that any Indian national in the service of the Russian army will be discharged and released,” Jaishankar said.
