New Delhi: India on Thursday confirmed that 50 Indian nationals are still with the Russian army and efforts are on to bring them back at the earliest, adding that 45 Indian nationals have been discharged so far. Addressing the weekly media briefing here in New Delhi on Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We have taken up the matter with the Russian side. Since PM Modi visited Russia in July, 35 Indians have been discharged from the Russian Army. Before the PM's visit 10 Indian nationals were discharged. A total of 45.
Indian nationals have been discharged from the Russian army. Six of them have come back to India and several others will be returning soon. There are currently 50 Indian nationals in the Russian army and we are trying our best to discharge them at the earliest as we are in touch with Russian authorities, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
It is worth mentioning that during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Moscow in July this year, Russia had promised to discharge any Indians, who had been falsely induced to join the Russian army and later forced into active combat in Ukraine. In August this year, External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar informed the Lower House of Parliament that a total of 91 Indians were recruited into the Russian Army and 15 of them have been released and repatriated to India. In all, 68 Indians are currently awaiting release from the Russian army.
"The problem is that the Russian authorities maintain that these Indian nationals entered into contracts for service with the Russian Army. We are not necessarily subscribing to that", EAM Jaishankar had said.
Read more: Russia To Release All Indians Recruits In Russian Army After PM Modi Raises Matter With Putin
