Russia will also be ready to open direct fire on violating ships to protect its borders, its senior diplomat warned after yesterday’s incident in the Black Sea with a British destroyer passing through Crimea in an area considered by Moscow to be its territorial waters, the Associated Press reported.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters today that “the inviolability of Russia’s borders is an unconditional imperative” and added that it would be protected “by all means, diplomatic, political and military, if necessary.”
Asked to comment on what Russia would do to prevent similar violations in the future, Ryabkov said it would be ready to fire directly at the target if the warnings did not work.
“We can call for common sense and demand that international law be respected,” he was quoted as saying by Russian intelligence agencies. “If that doesn’t help, we can drop bombs, not just on the course, but right on target, if colleagues don’t understand otherwise.”
Russia said its warship fired warning shots yesterday and a military plane dropped bombs on the course of the British destroyer Defender to drive it out of the Sevastopol area, but Britain denied that version and insisted it did not was shot.
This is the first case since the Cold War in which Moscow admits to using ammunition to repel a NATO warship. This shows the growing danger of military clashes amid tensions between Russia and the West, the Associated Press notes.
Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, an action not recognized by most countries. Moscow describes the visits of NATO warships near Crimea as destabilizing. In April, it expanded the area around Crimea, closed to foreign warships.
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