TASHKENT, December 18 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Foreign Ministry will do everything within its power to establish the circumstances surrounding the abduction of the Russian nationals in Syria, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.
“We are actively engaged in this. All the necessary steps are being taken,” Lavrov told journalists during talks in the Uzbek capital Tashkent.
The Russian Embassy in Syria confirmed on Monday that two Russians who work for a private company in Syria had been abducted near the western Syrian port city of Latakia. It it thought they were travelling along the Tartus-Homs highway.
Embassy spokesman Sergei Markov said that the circumstances surrounding their abduction are being investigated, and that steps are being taken to identify their location and secure their release.
On Monday the Italian Foreign Ministry confirmed media reports that an Italian national had been abducted.
No group has so far publicly claimed responsibility, and no demands have yet been made.
(Updated: Clarifies and expands Russian Foreign Ministry statement, adds detail)