MOSCOW, January 23. /TASS/. British authorities have resorted to dangerous hooliganism by participating in the detention of Russian tankers, Russia’s ambassador to London Andrey Kelin said on the Rossiya-24 television channel.

"This is very dangerous hooliganism. It has begun and, apparently, will continue," the diplomat noted. "In this specific case of the tanker's detention by the French it was carried out with the participation of British reconnaissance ships."

"The British government previously announced that there is a document that allows for such actions," Kelin said. "We've studied it; it's a framework document, and it doesn't yet authorize the use of force against sanctioned tankers. But the process is ongoing. As of today, they've calculated that the number of sanctioned tankers that transited the English Channel in January alone is around 40%. Apparently, this process will continue. This is a very dangerous matter".