Anatoly Urbanskyi, Chairman of the Odessa Regional Council, thanked everyone who took part in the release of Andrey Novichkov from Iranian captivity: “I want to thank everyone for their hard work, because this was really our joint work aimed at solving such a complex problem. I am very pleased that we, as a State, show that we do not abandon our people, and Andrey’s story is the best example of that confirms,” Anatoly Urbanskyi noted.
Andrey once again thanked the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and the Diplomatic corps of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine, as well as all those contributed to the positive outcome of his case.
He said that at one of the stages he had been offered to pay a fine of $ 3,000 to close the case, as well as to turn Islamic and look for forgiveness under the Muslim law, but his stubbornness and firm life position had not allowed him to do so. “I thought this was not the way out. In my understanding, changing religion is like betraying your homeland. If you are a Christian, then stay faithful until the end.”
In the nearest future, Andrey is planning to return to the career at sea and the MTWTU is ready to assist him with that, as the seafarer will need to renew his maritime documents.
