BANGKOK, July 24 (RIA Novosti) - The Thai authorities have promised to handle the extradition case of arms dealer Viktor Bout objectively and without politicizing the situation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.
Bout, a Russian businessman accused by the United States of illegal arms dealing, was arrested in March last year in Thailand. Washington has asked Thailand to extradite Bout, who says the charges against him are politically motivated.
"We have been given assurances that the case will be handled objectively and without any kind of politicizing," Lavrov said at a news conference in Thailand's capital.
A Thai court said in May it would announce its ruling on Bout's extradition on August 11.
The United States accuses Bout of conspiring with others to sell millions of dollars' worth of weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
The court will also deliver its verdict on Bout's lawsuit over his "unlawful custody."
Bout has consistently denied the accusations against him, and said in late May that the case was fabricated by the U.S. government for political reasons.
