Russia condemns priest deportation

NEW DELHI: Russia has strongly condemned the deportation of a Russian citizen, Father Seraphim, by the immigration authorities of the Chennai International Airport.

"Unacceptable is the fact that Russian diplomats were denied for seven hours the contact with the priest at the airport. He was also denied basic assistance, including food, despite the requests from the Embassy and the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Chennai," a statement from the Russian Embassy here regretted.

"Such disrespect, shown to a priest from a friendly country, goes against the spirit of mutual affinity and cooperation characteristic of Russian-Indian relationship," the Embassy noted.