MOSCOW, April 14 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's foreign minister weighed in on the high-profile custody dispute over a three-year-old Russian-French girl on Tuesday, saying Hungary had taken a "hasty" decision in returning her to France.
Elise Andre, caught up in 'tug of love' between her French father and Russian mother, was kidnapped in south France last month, allegedly by her mother, Irina Belenkaya. The woman was arrested attempting to cross the border from Hungary to Ukraine with her daughter on Sunday night.
Asked by a reporter to comment on Hungary's decision to send her back to France, Sergei Lavrov said: "The French side did not inform us of any charges against Irina Belenkaya. We therefore believe that the decision by the Hungarian authorities to hand the girl over to France was hasty."
The girl and her father, Jean-Michel Andre, left Hungary for France on Tuesday morning. A closed-door hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday in Budapest on whether to charge Belenkaya. Under Hungarian law, a decision must be reached within 72 hours of the arrest.
Andre, who was attacked by a group of people on March 20 when his daughter was seized, says his ex-wife was among the assailants. However, he told reporters on Monday that he does not want her to face a jail term.
Lavrov said Russia would propose to France that the countries' lawyers hold consultations on the case.
"In a very short time, I hope it will be today, we will propose to the French side concrete consultations between our lawyers," he said.
"Of course, in addition to the meeting held today between Russian officials abroad and Irina Belenkaya, the Russian Foreign Ministry will continue to do everything possible to protect the interests of our citizens - Irina and her daughter Liza. I am sure that in this specific case, the interests of the child must come first," he said.
Lavrov said that that there are legal difficulties in this case, as the court systems of France and Russia have both ruled in favor of their own nationals in awarding them custody over the child.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the Investigation Committee at the Prosecutor General's Office, said investigations were continuing into the abduction of Elise in Moscow last year.
According to the investigation, the girl was kidnapped on September 22, 2008 by two unknown men as she was walking with her nanny in the north of Moscow.
"The investigation has information that one of the kidnappers of the child was her father," Markin said.
Elise has been 'kidnapped' back and forth three times in the past two years by her warring parents.
Andre was awarded custody by a French court following the couple's divorce in 2007. After his former wife left the country, taking her daughter with her, a warrant for her arrest was issued in 2008. 
Belenkaya was then awarded custody of Elise by a Russian court.
In response, Andre hired private detectives to trace his ex-wife and child, traveling to Moscow to seize his daughter and take her back to France. A Russian court subsequently issued a warrant for Andre's arrest.
