MOSCOW, June 2. /TASS/. France's statements regarding the detention of the Tagor tanker are an example of European legal nihilism and the rewriting of norms for its own benefit, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"On May 31, French military forces, with British support, stopped the Tagor vessel on the high seas, more than 400 nautical miles off the coast of Brittany, en route from the Russian port of Murmansk to Cameroon with virtually no cargo, on the grounds that the vessel was allegedly flying a 'false' flag. <...> The French authorities' statements that their actions were allegedly carried out in accordance with international law are yet another example of European legal nihilism and the rewriting of norms for their own benefit. International maritime law allows a warship to stop and, in strictly limited cases, inspect a vessel on the high seas," the diplomat noted.

Zakharova pointed out that, however, international treaties do not provide for the possibility of forcibly rerouting a vessel and escorting it from the high seas to a port of the warship's country.

"Not to mention French President Emmanuel Macron's references to some 'international' sanctions, for the alleged violation of which this vessel was redirected to a French port. We remind you that only those sanctions approved by the UN Security Council are international, while illegal unilateral restrictive measures adopted by Europeans can become international only in the imagination of the Franco-British pirate tandem. The UN General Assembly has repeatedly noted that such 'sanctions' contradict international law," she added.

"We draw the attention of our European colleagues to the fact that vessels operating in their interests often fly 'flags of convenience.' The transfer of the fight against such vessels by the French to the high seas, where freedom of navigation applies, could cost global merchant shipping dearly," Zakharova emphasized.

The diplomat noted that the Russian Embassy in France had demanded that Paris provide full information about the circumstances of the detention and was "taking comprehensive measures to protect Russian citizens among the crew members."

"The French groundlessly justify their actions by citing Article 110 of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which provides for the possibility of inspecting a vessel on the high seas if it 'has no nationality,'" Zakharova explained.

On the tanker's detention

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the country's Navy, supported by the United Kingdom and other partners, had detained the sanctioned Tagor tanker, en route from Russia, in the Atlantic Ocean. According to preliminary data, the captain of the seized vessel is a Russian citizen, the Russian Embassy in Paris told TASS.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow considers the tanker's detention illegal. According to him, it borders on piracy.