11 December 2025, 14:21

Bastrykin praises work of joint Belarus-Russia investigative teams

MINSK, 11 December (BelTA) - There are no impediments in the work of the joint investigative teams of Belarus and Russia, and good working relations have been established between the agencies, Chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin told the media following the meeting with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko on 11 December, BelTA has learned.

Alexander Bastrykin was asked to assess the work of the joint Belarusian-Russian investigative teams. The journalists inquired if there were any impediments in this work. “There are no impediments at all,” Alexander Bastrykin said. “Relations are good.”

He also noted a certain specificity in investigative work in Belarus and Russia. For instance, investigative authority in Belarus is also held by the General Prosecutor’s Office. “High-profile, serious crimes (for example, of a corrupt nature) can also be investigated by the General Prosecutor’s Office. Therefore, we interact both with the Investigative Committee and the General Prosecutor’s Office. And the General Prosecutor’s Office of Belarus is the main investigative body handling the facts of genocide,” he emphasized.

“The most important thing, and Aleksandr Grigoryevich [Lukashenko] acknowledged this, is the very close, human, friendly relations. After all, we are the Union State. This is not a formal approach where you just send off some document, forget about it, and nothing gets done. We truly interact as a single whole,” the head of the Russian investigative agency added.

At the same time, he stated that the Investigative Committee of Russia has practically no interaction with Western countries: “[Interaction] is poor. We used to have many agreements, up to 30. Including with European states.”

The same applies to the cooperation of Russia’s Investigative Committee with law enforcement from the USA, Alexander Bastrykin said. However, he noted that he likes President Trump’s position on Ukraine.