Diplomats checking reports about Russians on board burning ferry off Greece
MOSCOW. Dec 28 (Interfax) - The Russian Embassy to Italy is verifying reports that two Russian citizens could be among the passengers of a Norman Atlantic ferry which caught fire off the Greek coast.
"We have requested information from the coastal guard, they sent us a formal letter stating that Russians were on board. But at the same time these could be Ukrainian citizens. We are checking this information," a source in the Russian diplomatic mission in Italy told Interfax on Sunday
That two Ukrainian women were on board the Norman Atlantic was reported earlier by Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Yevhen Perebyinis.
For its part, neither the Russian Embassy in Greece could confirm the local media reports that two Russians were among the passengers of the burning Norman Atlantic ferry.
"We cannot confirm the Russian citizenship of these people," the diplomatic mission told Interfax on Sunday, recalling that the "Russian" surname does not always imply a Russian citizenship.
That two Russians were on the list of passengers of the Norman Atlantic ferry was reported by the Greek Vima newspaper.