Nepal Issues Ultimatum To Russia
9- 5.12.2023, 11:36
- 15,614
Moscow must pay compensation to the families of Nepalese Gurkhas.
Nepal urged Moscow not to recruit its citizens into the Russian army and to immediately return all Nepali citizens. Previously it became known that six soldiers serving in the Russian army were killed.
Reuters reports this.
Nepali soldiers, called Gurkhas, have been serving the British and Indian armies following the independence of India in 1947 under an agreement between the three countries.
The small Himalayan state, wedged between China and India, has no such agreement with Russia, which invaded neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022 and has been engaged in a war since.
Nepal's government said in a statement that six of its citizens who served in the Russian army were killed, without providing any details.
“The Government of Nepal has written to the Russian Government to immediately return their bodies and pay compensation to their families,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The statement also said that diplomatic efforts are being made to free one Nepalese citizen who served in the Russian army and was captured in Ukraine. Nepal has also urged its citizens not to join the army of any country that is waging war.
English daily, The Kathmandu Post, quoted Milan Raj Tuladhar, Nepal's ambassador in Moscow, as saying that 150-200 Nepalis were working as mercenaries in the Russian army.
Millions of Nepali citizens are employed in civilian work mainly as labourers in industries and construction sites in South Korea, Malaysia and the Middle East.