Luhansk militia detains 4 Europeans, presumably from OSCE
MOSCOW. May 30 (Interfax) - Four European nations, presumably members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring mission, were detained in the Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine, on Thursday, "Southeastern Front" spokesman Serhiy Veselovsky has said.
"Our militiamen detained a group of four people, presumably OSCE monitors, near the town of Severodonetsk yesterday," he told Interfax on Friday.
"This group was moving around the region is a totally shameless way, without informing anyone [of their travel plans]," he added.
Militiamen are now interviewing the detained persons, who are feeling well, Veselovsky said.
Militiamen of the Donetsk region are also holding four OSCE monitors, detained on May 26. They are citizens of Estonia, Switzerland, Turkey and Denmark.
A source in the Slovyansk "self-defense force headquarters" told Interfax on Thursday that the four OSCE monitors could be released on Friday.
"We suspect them of being engaged in intelligence gathering. If our suspicions are not confirmed, we will let them go," he said.
The U.S. authorities, for their part, have called on Russia to use its influence in order to secure the release of the OSCE monitors being held in the east of Ukraine.
In response, Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said at a UN Security Council meeting that the Ukrainian authorities bear the most responsibility for ensuring the OSCE monitors' security.