Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a meeting with his Cypriot counterpart Ioannis Kasoulides in Moscow, Russia October 31, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

MINSK (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Ukraine’s detention of two Russian soldiers near the border with Crimea was “a provocation.”

Ukrainian security services detained two Russian soldiers near the border with Crimea on Monday. Kiev said the men were deserters from the Ukrainian army detained on Ukrainian-controlled territory, while Moscow claimed they were seized in Crimea.