Russian President Vladimir Putin has laid the blame for a stand-off with Ukrainian vessels in the Black Sea on the Ukrainian president and his desire to get re-elected.
By Associated Press Reporter
November 28 2018 12:59 PM
Russian President Vladimir Putin has laid the blame for a stand-off with Ukrainian vessels in the Black Sea on the Ukrainian president and his desire to get re-elected.
It is the first time that Putin has commented on the incident near Russia-occupied Crimea on Sunday that raised the spectre of a full-blown conflict between the two neighbours.
Ukraine has released what it says is the exact location near Crimea where its three vessels were fired on and seized by Russia, showing that they were in international waters.
But Putin said in a televised speech on Wednesday that the incident was entirely provoked by the Ukrainian vessels, which refused to communicate with Russian border guards.
Putin laid the blame on Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, saying that he ordered the navy to provoke the stand-off with the sole purpose of scoring political points and getting re-elected next year.
Putin also said the Ukrainian vessels violated the territorial waters off southern Russia, which is the internationally recognised border.
Russia considers Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, part of its country.
This appears to run counter to the claims of the Ukrainian government, which said the ships were approaching from another direction and were firmly in international waters.
Russian officials say they will try the captured seamen for violating the Russian border and that they do not consider them prisoners of war.
Meanwhile Estonia, a former Soviet republic, summoned the Russian ambassador to Tallinn.
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