Russians Briefly Detain U.S. Senators
By JIM HEINTZ, AP

MOSCOW (AP) - A plane carrying two U.S. senators was detained for
several hours Sunday while trying to leave Russia, before being
permitted to leave the country for Ukraine, according to spokesmen for
the lawmakers.

Sens. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., who had been
visiting storage sites for weapons of mass destruction, were held at an
airport in the Ural Mountain city of Perm for several hours but were
allowed to leave after talks between U.S. and Russian officials.

"I am in Ukraine with Sen. Lugar," Intelligence Committee Chairman
Richard Lugar's spokesman, Andy Fisher, said in a message sent from a
personal messaging device Sunday afternoon.

He said Russian officials refused to let the plane take off for three
hours and insisted on boarding it. "They did not. The border patrol
finally got orders to let us go," Fisher said.

"We were treated just fine," he said.

A spokesman for Obama also confirmed the plane's arrival in Ukraine.

The senators and their aides spent three days in Russia visiting sites
where warheads are stored before destruction under the U.S.-funded
Comprehensive Threat Reduction program.

The spokesmen did not have information on the nature of the dispute
that resulted in the senators' being held. Telephone calls to the
Russian border guard service and Foreign Ministry were not answered
Sunday evening.

The spokesmen also said Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., was delayed in
departing from another Russian airport Sunday because of documentation
problems.

Associated Press Writer Laurie Kellman contributed to this report from
Washington.