MOSCOW, Sept 3: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov offered support to his Bangladeshi counterpart Iftekhar Chowdhury on Monday as the authorities in Dhaka arrested former prime minister Khaleda Zia.

“We support this country’s efforts to stabilise the situation and move towards democracy,” Lavrov said with reference to Bangladesh at a joint news conference in Moscow.

Chowdhury in turn denied a political link to Monday’s arrest, part of a campaign against corruption launched by the army-backed government that took over in January.

“The prosecutor has taken some actions.... The government has nothing to do with this arrest,” said Chowdhury. “The government will ensure and has to ensure that the process of law is followed in each case.”

Bangladesh has been ruled under a state of emergency by the military-backed interim government since January, when elections were cancelled.—AFP