MOSCOW, August 12. /TASS/. Russia’s opponents must understand that if they act like pirates, they will face consequences, Konstantin Basyuk, deputy chairman of the Federation Council’s Committee on Defense and Security, told TASS.

Earlier, Russian President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin said that Russia would respond in kind if Western countries seized Russian merchant vessels.

"Our opponents must understand one simple thing: reciprocity is not just rhetoric; it is a strategy approved at the highest level. If the West wants to play pirates, it should not be surprised when a response comes wherever it will hurt them most. <...> We know the routes, we know whose ships they are and what they are carrying, and we are ready to act. The order was given back in July, and the interagency mechanism is already in place," Basyuk said.

The president’s remarks do not constitute a threat, but a statement of fact, as there is no point in using diplomatic notes with those who speak the language of force, the senator said.

"By the way, we have had such an experience in the Far East. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the Vladivostok cruiser squadron, under Admiral Jessen’s command, disrupted shipping so severely over several months, seizing and sinking vessels belonging to European companies that carried militarily significant cargoes to Japan, that they simply refused to sail to the shores of the Land of the Rising Sun," he added.