MOSCOW – A US proposal to send more NATO ships to the Black Sea to ensuresafe passage for Ukrainian vessels and deter Russia is viewed “negatively”in Moscow, the Kremlin said Wednesday.
Washington has been working on a package to boost surveillance and deploymore NATO vessels to the Black Sea after a naval confrontation betweenMoscow and Kiev last year, the US ambassador to NATO said.
The measure was expected to be discussed during talks by NATO foreignministers in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlinviewed such a proposal “negatively”.
“We do not understand what they mean by this. The situation with the KerchStraight and navigation there is well known,” he told reporters.
Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko told Russian newsagencies the plan would only lead to “increased military risks” in theregion.
“If additional military and technical measures are needed from our side,we will adopt them,” Interfax news agency quoted Grushko as saying.
Most alliance members share concerns about Russia which backs separatistsin a smouldering conflict in eastern Ukraine that has so far claimed some13,000 lives.
In November, Russia fired on and seized three Ukrainian navy vessels,capturing two dozen sailors near the Kerch Strait, as they tried to passfrom the Black Sea to the Azov Sea.
It was the first open military clash between Kiev and Moscow since 2014,when Russia annexed Crimea and a pro-Russian insurgency erupted in easternUkraine.
“We are going to make sure that we have the capability to deter a veryaggressive Russia,” US ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison toldreporters on Tuesday.
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She said the US package was designed “to assure that there is a safepassage for Ukrainian vessels through the Kerch Strait.”
Observers say that an increased NATO presence in the region is one ofRussia’s worst nightmares.
Putin has openly said that Moscow’s decision to take over Crimea was partlymotivated by NATO’s expansion into Eastern Europe.
Peskov did not say Wednesday whether Russia would in fact allow NATO shipsto pass through the Azov Sea.
“A decision will be made when there is such a request,” the Kremlinspokesman said.
The West has accused Moscow of illegally blocking access to the Sea ofAzov, used by both Russia and Ukraine.
A NATO spokesman declined to comment on the US ambassador’s remarks butpointed to comments by Stoltenberg on Monday when he outlined plans toincrease the alliance presence in the Black Sea.
Stoltenberg said NATO would step up port visits as well as exercises andtraining with Ukraine and Georgia.
But while he urged Russia to respect international law and the law of thesea, Stoltenberg made no mention of assuring freedom of navigation. -APP/AFP
