CAPTAIN OF TAGOR TANKER RELEASED

BREST, JUNE 4 /SRNA/ - The captain of the oil tanker Tagor, a Russian citizen, has been released from custody after the ship was detained by the French Navy, the prosecutor's office in Brest announced.

According to prosecutor Stéphane Kellenberger, the decision was made as part of "an ongoing large and complex judicial investigation," AFP reported.

The prosecutor added that the ship will remain anchored in the Bay of Douarnenez under an "administrative order."

Earlier, a spokesman for the Russian Embassy in France told TASS that diplomats had asked the French Foreign Ministry to grant consular access to the detained Russian citizen.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on June 1 that the French navy, with support from Britain and other partners, had seized the Tagore, a sanctioned tanker sailing from Russia, in the Atlantic Ocean.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that Moscow considered the tanker's detention illegal. He said the incident bordered on piracy.