US, UK attempted to hijack Russia’s coast guard system in Black Sea encounter: Official

A senior Russian diplomat says the United States and the United Kingdom attempted to hijack Russia’s coast guard system through provocation during an encounter in the Black Sea last month.

In early June, the British destroyer HMS Defender ventured three kilometers into the Russian territorial waters off the Crimean Peninsula’s Cape Fiolent in the Black Sea. The move prompted a Russian border guard patrol ship to fire warning shots and a Sukhoi-24M bomber to drop bombs ahead of the destroyer. The HMS Defender left the waters after the warning maneuvers.

The Russian Defense Ministry later denounced the provocative action as a gross violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and urged London to investigate the crew’s actions.

In an interview with the International Affairs magazine on Tuesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that Washington and London fully understood the consequences of such provocative actions but again tried to test Moscow’s determination for response.

“They attempted to test our resolve to respond by force if necessary, and tried to hijack our coast guard system and the system of control over our waters,” Ryabkov said in the interview. “It is clear that they tried to achieve numerous goals with this, which is lamentable.”

“I hope that the British admiralty, Downing Street, the Pentagon, and the White House have learned something from this escalation,” he added.

After the incident, Moscow firmly warned London not to make any further provocative actions in the region and summoned the British ambassador to Moscow to deliver a “tough démarche.”

Russia says will respond firmly to any further provocative actions by UK in Black Sea

Moscow warns the UK not to provoke Russia any further in the Black Sea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that Moscow could have sunk the British warship over illegally entering Russia’s territorial waters, and accused the US of a role in the “provocation.”

Crimea declared independence from Ukraine on March 17, 2014, and formally applied to become part of Russia following a referendum, in which 96.8 percent of participants voted in favor of the move.

‘Stop heating up revanchist sentiments’

Tensions between Russia and the West have escalated over the past weeks as the US and its NATO allies kicked off war games in the strategic Black Sea.

The naval exercise, dubbed Sea Breeze 2021, involves about 5,000 military personnel from NATO and other allies, and around 30 ships and 40 aircraft, with US missile destroyer USS Ross and the US Marine Corps taking part.

In his interview with the International Affairs magazine on Tuesday, Ryabkov blasted the Sea Breeze 2021 drills and said Russia was “ready to push back against any opportunist.”

“We warn that it would be better to keep the Black Sea peaceful instead of trying to heat up revanchist sentiments,” he stressed. “The UK and the US are doing it on purpose to nurture these illusions of revenge in Kiev. We see right through it.”

Russia conducts live fire drill in Black Sea amid rising tensions with Ukraine, NATO

Russia conducts a live fire naval drill in the Black Sea amid escalating tensions with Ukraine and NATO countries.

Moscow had called for the cancellation of the Sea Breeze exercise before it began, with the Russian Defense Ministry stressing that it would react to safeguard national security if necessary.

Last week, Russia conducted a live fire naval drill in the Black Sea and also tested its air defense systems in the Crimean Peninsula amid escalating tensions with Ukraine and NATO countries.

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