/ world today news/ The demonstration of the flagship of the US Navy in the Black Sea does not contribute to the stability of the situation in the world. This is what Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Sunday, commenting on the decision of the US Sixth Fleet to send the flagship command ship Mount Whitney to the Black Sea for joint operations with NATO forces.
Answering the question of whether Moscow was warned about these maneuvers, the minister said that “here we are not talking about a warning, but about the application of international legal norms for the entry of ships of offshore states into the Black Sea.”
“These matters are governed by the Montreux Convention, according to which the countries owning a particular warship are obliged to notify the Turkish authorities. As far as I know, these rules are followed. At least we clearly observe that this is exactly the case. Lavrov added.
“In general, the demonstration of the flagship of the United States Navy in the Black Sea is, of course, not an isolated case,” he added.
“There have been several times when the US has explicitly stated the need for its warships to enter this water area in order to contain Russia and prevent Russia from creating risks in the Black Sea for US allies. This, of course, does not add stability,” the head said of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
In his words, the Americans are actively trying to push the coastal Black Sea countries, which are NATO members, to lead such a confrontational line – “there is talk of creating new naval bases on the Black Sea coast of Romania or Bulgaria.”
“I don’t think this will meet the interests of good neighborliness in the Black Sea region,” Lavrov stressed.
Readiness to reflect any threat
At the same time, he noted that Russia is ready for any threats and can reliably guarantee security in the Black Sea.
“We are ready for any threats. We have no problems reliably guaranteeing the security of Russian territory and security in the Black Sea,” Lavrov was categorical.
“But we are always in favor of promoting projects of cooperation, not projects that are based on confrontation,” said the head of the Russian diplomatic service.
Lavrov recalled the existence of the Organization for Black Sea Economic Cooperation, in which not only the coastal countries, but also other countries of this region and the countries of the European Union participate.
“And we advocate that cooperation, not escalation of tension, should be the basis of relations between countries in this part of our region,” he concluded.
It was announced on Friday that the US Sixth Fleet is sending its flagship command ship Mount Whitney to the Black Sea for joint operations with NATO forces. The Sixth Fleet separately reported that the US Navy destroyer Porter had already headed for the Black Sea.
Translation: SM
#Lavrov #talk #NATO #bases #Bulgaria #Romania
