The United States does not like the Russian decision to restrict the navigation of foreign military and official ships in three areas off the Crimea.
“This represents yet another unprovoked escalation in the current Moscow campaign aimed at weakening and destabilizing Ukraine”State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement highlighting the “Deep concern” from Washington as large Russian troops were positioned on the border with Ukraine.
Moscow announced on Friday ” to suspend “ for six months, from April 24 to October 31, “Passage through the territorial waters of the Russian Federation for military ships and other state buildings”. This suspension concerns three zones, including one off the Kerch peninsula, near the straits of the same name, which connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov and which is of crucial importance for the exports of cereals or steel produced in Ukraine.
Increased tensions
Russian-Ukrainian tensions have been growing for several weeks, Ukraine accusing Moscow of seeking a casus belli to invade it and Russia accusing Kiev of preparing an offensive against pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
United States “Call on Russia to stop harassing ships in the region and reduce the number of its troops along the border with Ukraine”, said the spokesperson for the State Department. NATO member countries had already expressed their ” worry “ on the Moscow maritime maneuvers and demanded that Russia guarantee “Free access” to the Ukrainian ports of the Sea of Azov.
Russian forces on the Ukrainian border, estimated at 100,000 troops by the European Union, would be larger than during the invasion of Crimea in 2014, the Pentagon also estimated on Monday.
The United States regards this deployment as “Very worrying” and they call russia “To clarify his intentions”US Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby said. “We do not believe that this deployment is conducive to security and stability along the border with Ukraine and certainly not in occupied Crimea,” he added. “The Russians claim that these are exercises. It is not very clear to us that this is the objective ”, he concludes.
