Tension in the Black Sea: Putin assured that “it would be difficult to imagine a world war even if we sank a ship”

The Russian President, Vladimir Poutine, said on Wednesday that the incident involving a British destroyer in the Black Sea he could not have started a world conflict even if Russia had sunk the warship, because the West knows it cannot win such a war. The harsh statement seemed to indicate his decision to raise the stakes in case a similar incident occurs again.

In a marathon call show Putin also revealed that he received the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine produced in the country., and urged Russians to get vaccinated at a time when the country grapples with a devastating wave of cases and deaths amid widespread reluctance to get vaccinated.

Putin was asked about the June 23 incident in the Black Sea, in which Russia said one of its warships fired warning shots and a warplane dropped bombs on the way to the British HMS Defender to force him out an area near Crimea which Moscow claims as its territorial waters. He said that an American reconnaissance plane had joined what he described as a “provocation“To test Russia’s response.

Great Britain, which like most other nations did not recognize the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, he insisted that the defender was not dismissed and said he was sailing in Ukrainian waters. “HMS Defender was leading a not innocent through Ukrainian territorial waters in accordance with international law, ”the British Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday.

asked if the facts They could have started a world war Putin replied that the West would not risk full-scale conflict. “Even if we had sunk this ship, it would be hard to imagine that it would put the world on the brink of WWIII, because those who imagine it know that they cannot be victorious in this war, and that is Very important.Putin said. This statement followed a warning from Russian authorities that if a western warship entered the waters, the army could shoot it.

Putin denounced the American reconnaissance plane that took off from the Greek island of Crete operated in conjunction with the british ship in an apparent monitoring mission of the Russian military response to the British destroyer.

“It was clearly a provocation, a complex provocation involving not only the British but also the Americans.He said, adding that Moscow was aware of the intentions of the United States and responded accordingly to avoid revealing sensitive data.

Asked about Putin’s statement, the naval captain Wendy Snyder, head of public affairs for the United States European Command, said that “Yes, we had planes in operation,” but he reaffirmed the Pentagon’s earlier rejection of the Russian description of the incident as false. “We operate and monitor everything in the Black Sea region, as we always doSnyder said.

The Russian leader particularly regretted that the incident happened soon after its summit with the President of the United States, Joe Biden, held this month in Geneva.

“The world is undergoing radical change,” he said. “Our American partners are aware of this, which is why the Geneva meeting took place. But, on the other hand, they try to secure their monopoly position, which results in threats and destructive actions such as drills, provocations and sanctions.”.

Although the West does not recognize Crimea as part of Russia, Putin said the naval incident took the controversy to a new level. “If they don’t recognize something, okay, they can always refuse to recognize it,” he said. “But why make such provocations?

Putin insisted that Russia will stand up for its interests firmly. “We are fighting for ourselves and for our future in our own territory“He said.” Nor are we the ones who have traveled thousands of kilometers (miles) to reach them; they are the ones who reached our borders and violated our territorial waters “.

(With AP information)

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