Minsk asks Thailand to free Belarusian citizen.

MINSK, January 19 (Itar-Tass) - Belarus has again sent a note to
Thailand's Foreign Ministry, requesting it to provide assistance in
freeing the Belarusian citizen, a member of the Il-76 plane crew detained in Bangkok, a spokesman said.

"The Belarusian Foreign Ministry on January 19 sent a note to
Thailand's Foreign Ministry requesting it to provide assistance in the
soonest freeing of the Belarusian citizen," spokesman Andrei Popov told
reporters on Tuesday.
Popov said the Belarusian diplomatic mission in Hanoi was keeping
track of the situation related to the detention of the Il-76 plane.
"All possible measures within intentional law are being taken, aimed
at protecting the interests of our citizen," he noted.
On December 17, 2009, Belarus asked Thailand to release the Belarusian
citizen on bail.
The Il-76 belonging to Air Georgian airline, made a stopover in
Bangkok on December 11, 2009 for refuelling. It had flown from North Korea.
An inspection by Thai authorities found several tons of weapons on
board, including ground-to-air missiles and explosives.
The crew comprising four Kazakhs, and one Belarusian - Mikhail
Petukhov - was detained. The pilots claimed they were unaware that they
were flying an illegal cargo.
-0-myz/usn