The risk of conflict in the Black Sea is growing, Russia has intercepted a British plane over Crimea

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In recent years, Russia has reformed and modernized its navy in the Black Sea. PHOTOS: Reuters

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The risks of conflict in the Black Sea are increasing. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned about this.

Ryabkov said NATO was trying to “test” Russia’s strength by conducting exercises in the region. “We are really worried about what is happening in the Black Sea region, it is an endless series of provocations carried out by the United States and NATO allies, and some of the ‘clients’ are in the region,” he told reporters, TASS reported.

The comments came after the United States sent its naval command ship, Mount Whitney, and the destroyer Porter, with guided missiles in Georgian waters, to conduct operations with its NATO allies.

According to Ryabkov, there is currently no agreement on a Russia-US summit, but added that the issue remains relevant.

On Wednesday, a spokesman for the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters that there was still no agreement on a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden. “Anything is possible,” he said when asked to comment on reports that an online Russia-US summit could be held before the end of the year and a face-to-face meeting is possible next year. Similar information was reported by the Russian newspaper “Kommersant”, citing its sources.

“There is still no real agreement,” Peskov said, adding that a statement would be made once an agreement is reached.

According to Peskov, Moscow and Washington are interested in establishing direct contact between the two presidents in the near future.

Russia, meanwhile, said it had hoisted a fighter jet to intercept a British reconnaissance plane flying near Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014, Reuters reported.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the British plane’s entry into the region was part of increased military activity by the United States and its allies in the Black Sea region, which Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed dissatisfaction with in a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel today.

The ministry said it had hoisted a Su-30 fighter jet to intercept a British Boeing RC-135 reconnaissance plane that it said was trying to approach Crimea. According to the military department, the British plane changed course and moved away after the Russian one approached it, BTA reports.

Putin told Merkel by phone today that Western actions in the Black Sea region were destabilizing, dangerous and provocative, the Kremlin said.

The defense ministry added that over the past 24 hours, NATO’s increased activity has included two US warships, strategic aircraft and four Alliance reconnaissance aircraft, including the British.

The ministry said it was similar to NATO’s attempt to reconnoiter a potential theater of operations, which the ministry said could be useful if Ukraine tried to retake the Donbass region by force after Russian-backed separatists in 2014. they took control of him.

The agency added that two Russian warships were monitoring the American vessels.

In June, the British warship Defender crossed the Crimea, which London said at the time was in compliance with internationally recognized rules on freedom of navigation in Ukrainian territorial waters. The case provoked a stormy reaction from Moscow.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and says the waters around it belong to Moscow, although most countries continue to recognize the peninsula as Ukrainian.

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