UN hails release of detained Russian helicopter crew

The United Nations hails the release of the crew of the Russian helicopter Mi-26T which was detained in Sudan. The official spokesman for the press service of the UN headquarters, Stefan Dujarric, spoke about it in the interview which he gave to RIA Novosti.

He underscored that the United Nations hopes that the helicopter, charted by the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will soon be able to head for the DRC. It is waited for there very much, added Stefan Dujarric.

Earlier, as RIA Novosti was told in the permanent mission of the Russian Federation at the UN, the documents, confirming that the helicopter belongs to the international mission in the DRC, were sent from New York to the Sudanese authorities at the urgent request of the Russian diplomats.

Incidentally, a spokesman for the Sudanese permanent mission at the UN, asked by the RIA Novosti correspondent to comment on the development of the events, said that the mission was not in the know about the situation concerning the Russian helicopter.

On Tuesday, the Sudanese authorities released the crew of the transport helicopter Mi-26T which flew from Russia to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was detained on July 21 in the town of El-Fasher (Sudan). According to the statement of Khartoum officials, the pilots will be deported by the Sudanese authorities while the helicopter will remain in Sudan until the arrival of a new crew.