US calls on Russia to allow observation of its military drills
The United States has called on Russia to allow observation of its upcoming military exercises in the Black Sea amid growing tensions between Moscow and Ukraine over the security situation of the peninsula.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the three-day drill in the area aims to practice repelling underwater attacks by saboteurs.
Russia Black Sea Fleet based in Crimea will take part in the exercises with more than 10 warships, MI-8 and Ka-27PS helicopters.
Russia has also deployed a regiment of its advanced S-400 air defense missile system to Crimea.
"The Russians could really help alleviate and provide some stability if they had invited observers," said Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, the commander of the US Army in Europe.
"That would do a lot, frankly, to lower anxiety," Hodges told Reuters. "There's nothing wrong with an exercise. It's ... the lack of transparency."
Also, a US intelligence official called the absence of observers at the Russian exercises "a worrisome development that we hope is just an oversight."
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday that Moscow could break diplomatic relations with Kiev over an incursion by the Ukrainian military into Crimea.
Russia's Federal Security Service said Wednesday that it had thwarted the incursion over the weekend, saying two Russians were killed in the incident.
Ukraine’s defense intelligence, however, rejected Russia’s claim, saying it was based on “fake information.”
People in Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea voted for rejoining the Russian Federation in a referendum in March 2014. The move angered the West which branded it as Moscow’s annexation of the territory.
The United States and its allies in Europe accuse Moscow of having a hand in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Russia, however, strongly denies the charges.
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