According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, US President Donald Trump, in response to a request from the Russian side, decided to release two Russian citizens on board a tanker crew detained by the US. Moscow assessed this decision as a positive step and officially thanked the US President.
At the same time, so far, US authorities have not given a clear explanation to the media regarding this decision.
As a reminder, on January 7, the US Coast Guard seized the tanker "Bella 1" (formerly known as "Marinera"). The Washington side stated that the ship was considered to have transported sanctioned oil. It is noted that the tanker first floated under the Panamanian flag, and then switched to the Russian flag.
The crew consists of 28 people, including 17 Ukrainian citizens, 6 Georgian citizens, 3 Indian citizens, and 2 Russian citizens.
Earlier, Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox News, said that the submarine and destroyer, sent by Russia during the capture of the tanker, quickly left the area upon the arrival of US forces. According to him, the tanker is under US control, and oil is currently being unloaded from it.
In short, the processes surrounding this event are of great interest in the international arena: on the one hand, the issue of sanctions and security, and on the other, the fate of the crew. Now the main question is how events will unfold after this decision and how official Washington will put an end to this issue.
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