Russian Foreign Ministry rejects Poland's reproaches on identification of Smolensk air crash casualties
MOSCOW. May 31 (Interfax) - The remains of the bodies of casualties in the crash of Polish President Lech Kaczynski's airliner outside Smolensk were handed over to the Polish side with all necessary formalities observed; the burials took place already in Poland, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
Zakharova thus responded to a question from reporters at a news briefing on Wednesday asking her to comment on reports about the exhumation of the bodies of victims in the Polish presidential airliner's crash and about alleged violations while identifying and burying the human remains and the responsibility for this.
"The handover [of the human remains] proceeded with all rules and formalities observed, and the Russian competent bodies had no relation to further procedures, which were performed already in Poland," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
Zakharova called the aforementioned rebukes to Russian specialists, who "have fulfilled their professional duty at a difficult time" as "far-fetched and incorrect."
The investigation into the air crash was as open as possible, she said.
"The remains of the casualties of the Smolensk tragedy stayed in Russia over a few days. Authorized officials from Poland and family members of the casualties were busy with their identification. A genetic examination was required for this in many cases. Russian specialists simply had no time for it, in particular, because it was the Polish side which insisted on the soonest possible transportation of the bodies of the victims to the homeland," Zakharova said.