NEW DELHI, Oct 21: A total of 85 Indian nationals recruited by the Russian military have been discharged so far and authorities are working for the release of another 20 citizens, foreign secretary Vikram Misri said on Monday.
The discharge of the remaining Indians is expected to figure at a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin at a meeting on the margins of the Brics Summit in the Russian city of Kazan on Tuesday, official sources said on Monday.
The release and repatriation of Indian nationals serving as support staff, such as cooks and helpers, with Russian military units has become a key issue for New Delhi following the death of at least nine Indians on the front lines of the Ukraine war. Mr Modi had raised the issue when he last met Mr Putin for the annual India-Russia Summit in Moscow in July.
The Indian side is in “very close touch” with interlocutors in the foreign and defence ministries of Russia on the “issue of Indians who were, illegally or otherwise, contracted into fighting in the Russian Army,” Mr Misri told a media briefing on Modi’s visit to Russia for the Brics Summit.
“Our understanding, at the present moment, as per present information, is that about 85 people have returned from Russia. Unfortunately, we’ve also had the return of some mortal remains of people who lost their lives during the conflict,” he said.
“Our understanding is that nearly 20 people still remain [in the Russian Army] and we are pressing our interlocutors for the early discharge of all remaining Indians in the armed forces there.”
It was believed that the release of the remaining Indians serving in the Russian Army has been held up as the Russian defence ministry is yet to annul their contracts for military service.
In August, the Russian embassy in New Delhi had said the recruitment of Indian nationals into Russia’s armed forces was stopped in April, and authorities were working for the early discharge of Indians who “voluntarily contracted for military service.”
The Indian side has said many Indians recruited into the Russian military were “misled” or duped by unscrupulous recruitment agents. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a criminal case against 19 individuals and entities for their alleged role in recruiting Indians and had made several arrests.
(Manas Dasgupta)