Putin accuses US of involvement in British warship row with Russia

Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin, while speaking during his annual televised phone-in, accused the United States of involvement in the incident involving a British destroyer off the coast of Crimea.

"It was complex and was carried out not only by the British but also by the Americans," the Russian president said, adding, "This, of course, was a provocation that is completely obvious."

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Russian authorities claimed they fired warning shots and dropped bombs as the British Navy's HMS Defender passed near the Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea as it left the territory. Russia claims Crimea as its own territory after it was annexed in 2014.

"It was obvious that the destroyer entered (the waters near Crimea) pursuing, first of all, military goals, trying to use a reconnaissance aircraft to discover how our forces would stop such provocations, to see what happens on our side, how things work and where everything is located," Putin said.

Putin downplayed the incident, stating that even if Russia had sunk the British destroyer, it was "unlikely that the world would have been on the verge of World War-III."

Amid the row, Britain said it was an "innocent passage through Ukrainian territorial waters" in accordance with international law. Tensions between the two nations escalated as Russia's foreign ministry last week summoned the British ambassador to "strongly protest" the incident.

"In the event of a repetition of such provocations, all responsibility for their possible consequences will rest entirely on the British side," the Russian foreign ministry said even as the Kremlin stated that the incident was a "deliberate and prepared provocation."

The warship incident occurred as the US and Ukraine along with 30 other nations prepared to conduct Sea Breeze 2021 military exercise from June 28 to July 10 in the Black Sea.

(With inputs from Agencies)