"They are now citizens of nations friendly to Russia," he said. "They would have been persecuted before, but we just want to know what happened to them because they are still considered missing and because many of them have relatives in Russia."
The commission, set up two years ago primarily to find out what happened to the hundreds of Americans declared missing in action during World War II, the Vietnam and Korean wars and Cold War spying operations, is now helping the Russian side seek out ex-Soviet soldiers declared missing during the Afghanistan invasion.
"We found out with the help of the American side that 19 of the 290 Soviet soldiers listed missing during the Afghan war now live in the United States, Canada, Germany and other Western nations," said the commission's Russian co-chair, Dmitry Volkogonov.
Volkogonov said other Russian soldiers probably live in Islamic nations after being captured by the Afghan rebels. "We do not blame them for anything and we want to find out what happened to them for purely humanitarian reasons."
Less progress has been made in determining what happened to Americans who disappeared during the Cold War and the Vietnam and Korean conflicts.
However, the American co-chair of the commission, Ambassador Malcolm Toon, said Friday that he had just received a call from a joint U.S.-Russian search party that had apparently found the remains of an American pilot shot down over the Kuril Islands in the Russian Far East.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.