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President Petro Poroshenko made this appeal during an interview with the German daily Bild published Thursday, claiming that "Germany is one of our closest allies and we hope that the NATO states are ready to relocate warships in the Azov Sea in order to help Ukraine and ensure security. " ;
During Sunday's clash, the Russian coastguard fired and seized three Ukrainian ships and their crews who were seeking to move from the Black Sea to the Azov Sea through the Kerch Strait, between Russia Continental and the Crimean Peninsula annexed to Ukraine in 2014.
The German or NATO authorities did not react immediately to Poroshenko's request. Although NATO has condemned Russian action, it is unlikely that the allies will take into account Poroshenko's request, which could trigger a confrontation with Russia. A 2003 treaty between Russia and Ukraine stipulates that an agreement from each of the two littoral countries is required so that the warships of any other country can enter the inland sea.
Ukraine insisted that its vessels were operating in accordance with international maritime rules, while Russia said it had not obtained clearance to pbad.
Ukraine has published what it said was the exact location where Russia fired on its ships, claiming that they were in international waters at the time. west of the Kerch Strait. Russia, meanwhile, insisted that Ukrainian ships were in its territorial waters and refused to contact the Russian coastguards or accept a Russian pilot to guide them through the border. narrow strait.
"What should the border guards do?" Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. "They have fulfilled their duty to protect the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation.If they had acted differently, they should have been judged for that."
Poroshenko reacted by ordering martial law in much of the country, a decision that was put into effect with the approval of Parliament. Putin accused his Ukrainian counterpart of having provoked the naval incident as a pretext for introducing martial law in order to boost his popularity and his marginal competitors before the March elections.
This incident is the first reported clash between Russian and Ukrainian military since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. It fueled fears of a wider conflict and aroused strong criticism of Russia by the United States and its allies.
In the Bild interview, Poroshenko lobbied the West for direct military support.
"Russian President Putin wants nothing less than to occupy the sea," he said. "The only language that he understands is the unity of the western world".
On his side, Putin criticized the West for what he termed colluding with the "provocation" of Ukraine.
"The Kiev authorities are successfully selling their anti-Russian sentiments because they have nothing left to sell," he said. “ They can get by with everything they do. If they want to eat babies at breakfast today, they will probably serve them too. & # 39; & # 39;
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