Standoff Continues Between Russia And Qatar

Moscow’s attempts to win the release of two Russian intelligence officers imprisoned in Qatar remained stalled as of March 8. According to a March 6 article in Gazeta.ru, the Persian Gulf Sheikhdom has extended the period during which the two are to remain under arrest. The website said that this information came from an anonymous diplomatic source in Moscow.

It now seems that not two but three athletes from Qatar were arrested in Moscow as bargaining chips to win the release of the Russian arrestees. One of the three, however, proved to be a citizen of Belarus–a coach to the sheikhdom’s Olympic wrestling team–and was soon freed. The other two are apparently still being held in Moscow.