The US and Britain are trying to provoke a conflict with their actions over the incident with the Defender destroyer in the Black Sea, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Friday.
He stressed that the data of the negotiations between the command of the Russian coast guard ship and the command of the British destroyer published by the FSB "do not just dot all the i's, but completely close the plot with malicious attempts by high-ranking officials in London and some representatives of the US administration to distort the essence of what happened."
"They are trying by their actions to heat up the situation and essentially provoke a conflict. This completely contradicts the norms of international law, no matter what the commander or chief mate of the Defender destroyer says into his microphone," Ryabkov said.
On Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the British destroyer Defender crossed the Russian border near Cape Fiolent (Crimea). The Russian border ship, after repeated warnings, fired warning shots and the Su-24M aircraft made a "warning bombing" over the course of the destroyer's movement. The British Ministry of Defense and the Cabinet Office claim that the destroyer was not fired upon and was not in Russian territorial waters. The British Defence Ministry insists that the ship was making a peaceful passage through the territorial waters of Ukraine in accordance with international law. The British Defence Ministry also said that Russia had been conducting firing exercises in the Black Sea and had warned the "maritime community" about its actions in advance. However, a BBC journalist on board the British ship confirmed that the ship had deliberately entered Russian territorial waters. Later, the Telegraph newspaper, quoting sources in the Defense Ministry, reported that the final decision on the passage of the British destroyer Defender to the Black Sea was left to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson. Johnson himself called the ship's passage in these waters "quite appropriate," reminding that the UK does not recognize the transition of Crimea to Russia.
The deputy head of the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that Washington and London's versions are not true, since Crimea is Russian territory and, accordingly, the ship was in Russian territorial waters.
"This is Russia's territorial waters, this is our border. And we will defend it with all the means at our disposal, including military means. I confirm this," Ryabkov said.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Federation Council
Based on materials from RIA Novosti