MOSCOW, March 15. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has received a report on the incident involving a US drone that crashed into the Black Sea on Tuesday morning, Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media.
While commenting on the incident, he stated that Russian-US relations were at their lowest point, but emphasized Moscow's readiness for a constructive dialogue. The White House previously stated that, despite the incident, the US did not intend to stop conducting flights over the Black Sea.
TASS summarized the highlights of what happened.
Circumstances of the crash
- An MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle crashed into international waters in the Black Sea on March 14 at 9:03 a.m. Moscow time.
- The Russian Defense Ministry reported that the drone was flying towards the Russian border with its transponders turned off. It was in violation of the temporary regime established for the airspace over the area of the special military operation. The device went out of control "as a result of sharp maneuvering" and then crashed. The Russian jet fighters accompanying it did not use their weapons, nor did they come into contact with the drone at all in any other way, the Defense Ministry said.
- According to the US version, two Russian Sukhoi-27 jets intercepted an MQ-9 on a reconnaissance mission and dropped fuel on it several times. Ultimately, if Washington’s version of the events is to be believed, one of the fighters hit the drone’s propeller, thus causing it to crash.
- The Pentagon did not specify whether there had been weapons on board the lost vehicle. The New York Times, citing a senior US Department of Defense official, claimed that the MQ-9 was unarmed.
Moscow's position
- Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, who was summoned to the Department of State in connection with Tuesday’s incident, slammed the appearance of a drone over the Black Sea as a provocation. US warplanes and ships "have no business near the borders of Russia," he stressed.
- The diplomat also noted that US drones were collecting data in the region, which Ukraine subsequently used for carrying out strikes against Russia.
- At the same time, Antonov issued assurances that Moscow was not seeking a confrontation with Washington.
- The Kremlin commented on the incident on Wednesday. Its spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, advised journalists "to be guided by the statement of the Defense Ministry," saying that Putin was, "of course, briefed on the incident."
- There have been no exchanges at the highest level in connection with the incident, Peskov said. Noting the very deplorable state of bilateral relations, he stressed that Russia had never eschewed a constructive dialogue, and was not reluctant to engage in one now.
MQ-9 affair through US eyes
- US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the incident, the White House said. In addition, the United States has held consultations with its allies and partners.
- The White House described the interception of the US drone as "unsafe and unprofessional" and declared that flights over the Black Sea would continue.
- The Russian ambassador heard a protest from the US Department of State, which also expressed concern about what had happened. Ambassador Antonov said the conversation at the US Department of State was constructive.
- The Pentagon did not specify whether the US would try to recover the wreckage of its drone. According to the Department of Defense, "at this point in time, the Russians have not recovered that aircraft.".