Russia urgently recalls its diplomat from Ukraine after incident in Odessa airport
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia urgently recalled the third secretary of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Odessa, Andrey Malakey.
This happened after an object resembling a shuriken (Japanese throwing knife) was discovered in his hand luggage at the airport in Odessa, Censor.net reports.
"On June 1, 2018, when the Russian diplomat was passaging baggage control in Odessa International Airport, suspicions arose about the presence of prohibited items in his briefcase. As a result of a search sanctioned by the diplomat, a shuriken-like object was discovered," the report said. After the object was found, the Russian diplomat was removed from the flight and he consequently left the airport.
The transportation by diplomats of cold weapons in hand luggage violates the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 and the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization on aviation security.
Ukraine notified the Russian Federation about the incident, after which the Russian Foreign Ministry urgently recalled Malakey from the country.
This is not the first time that contraband was discovered in connection with Russian diplomats. In February, 389 kilograms of cocaine were found in the Russian Embassy in Argentina.