Belarus tells Putin it will investigate arrested Russian citizen

MOSCOW - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told his Russian counterpart that the investigation into Sofia Sapega, the detained girlfriend of an arrested dissident blogger, would take place in Belarus, the state-run Belta news agency said on Tuesday.

Sapega, a Russian citizen, was detained alongside her boyfriend Roman Protasevich on May 23 after their plane was forced to land in Minsk.

"The investigation of both individuals will be held in Belarus," Belta cited Lukashenko as saying. "I told the President of Russia this," he added, referring to talks held with President Vladimir Putin in Sochi last week.