MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. Russia has been surprised by the fact that Spain refused Russian naval vessels permission to make a call at the Ceuta port, which runs contrary to the Russian-Spanish Strategic Partnership Declaration, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Saturday.

"We were perplexed to learn that the Spanish authorities denied permission for the entry of ships of the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet (the Vice-Admiral Kulakov large anti-submarine ship and the Altai rescue tugboat) to the port of Ceuta. The situation looks strange at least, particularly against a backdrop of the current positive practice of cooperation concerning calls of Russian warships to Spanish ports," the statement says.

"The given step undoubtedly runs counter to the spirit of the Declaration on Strategic Partnership signed by the two countries in 2009, as well as Russian-Spanish cooperation that has been constructively developing in recent years," Zakharova added.