MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia on Tuesday warned the United States to ensure that its warships stay away from Crimea “for its own good”, calling its deployment in the Black Sea a provocation designed to test Russian nerves. .
Moscow annexed Crimea to Ukraine in 2014 and two U.S. warships are expected to arrive in the Black Sea this week amid escalation in fighting in eastern Ukraine, where government forces have fought troops supported by Russians in a conflict that Kyiv says killed 14,000 people.
The deployment occurs when the West sounds the alarm for what it says is a large and inexplicable accumulation of Russian forces near the eastern border of Ukraine and Crimea. Russia has said it is moving its forces as it sees fit, even for defensive purposes.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by Russian news agencies on Tuesday as warning US warships in the Black Sea to keep their distance, saying the risk of unspecified incidents was very high .
“There’s absolutely nothing that American ships do near our shores, that’s purely a provocative action. Provocative in the direct sense of the word: they test our strength, playing with nerves. they will succeed, ”Ryabkov said.
“We warn the United States that it will be better for them to stay away from Crimea and our Black Sea coast. It will be for your own good.
The Pentagon has refused to discuss the deployment of the ships, saying only that the U.S. military routinely sends ships to the region.
The Russian Black Sea Fleet is based in Crimea and has powerful missile and radar facilities on the peninsula.
Maxim Rodionov / Alexander Marrow reports; Edited by Andrew Osborn