Two Russian reporters held in Istanbul for filming drone production unit

Two journalists from the Russian television channel NTV have been arrested by Turkish police for allegedly filming a drone production unit without permission, officials said on Dec. 4.

According to the Russian channel, journalist Alexei Petrushko and cameraman Ivan Malyshkin were arrested by police in Istanbul on Dec. 3 morning.

The channel said they were still in detention on Dec. 3 evening and that subsequent calls and messages to them had gone unanswered.

A source in the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the journalists were arrested while filming a unit manufacturing drones without permission.

"They came to Istanbul to film but had neither received authorization nor accreditation," the source said.

The Russian embassy said it was in contact with Turkish authorities and hoped for "cooperation."

Meanwhile, the Istanbul Governor's Office declared that a Turkish citizen near the Russian crew has been detained.

Moscow and Ankara have agreed to jointly monitor a Russian-mediated truce over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region after a six-week war between Armenia and Azerbaijan that has claimed over 2,000 lives.

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