The Kremlin spokesman says the warship ‘HMS Defender’ that passed through the Black Sea near Russian borders was a ‘well planned provocation’ and that President Vladimir Putin had made clear any repetition would provoke a response.
Speaking to state media, Spokesman Dmitry Peskov says ‘it is obvious that the [Russian] reaction will of course be tough’.
He reiterated Russia’s accusation that both London and Washington had planned the incident and that Britain could not have conducted intrusion alone.
Peskov, citing Russian intelligence, says ‘the essence of such operations is planned by all the same senior comrades - those over the ocean’. Tensions are running high in the region as NATO and Ukraine conduct joint military operations in the Black Sea.
The war drills are being monitored by Russia’s Black Sea fleet. Peskov accused NATO of being a destabilizing element that could lead to confrontation but added that Moscow was open to dialogue with North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
On Wednesday, Putin said Russia fired warning shots and dropped bombs in the path of the British warship to chase it out of the Black Sea waters near Crimea. The Russian President said Moscow could have sunk the warship without starting World War Three. London says it does not recognize Russia’s account over the incident, claiming it’s warship was sailing through international waters.
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