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US idea of setting up coalition to patrol Strait of Hormuz unclear, says Russian diplomat

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said earlier that Washington was "building out a coalition that will patrol the Strait of Hormuz to keep those shipping lanes, those sea lanes open"

MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/. The United States hasn’t contacted Russia in relation to its initiative to set up a coalition to patrol the Strait of Hormuz, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov told reporters on Tuesday.

"No one presented any initiatives to us. They usually contact us and explain what they want, putting forward some ideas," he said. "We promote our own concept of collective security for the Persian Gulf area. We will publish it again today. It is absolutely unclear to me what our American colleagues suggest," the senior Russian diplomat added.

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said on Monday that Washington was "building out a coalition that will patrol the Strait of Hormuz to keep those shipping lanes, those sea lanes open." "There’ll be nations from all around the world that participate in that," he added. On July 19, the US Central Command issued a statement saying that it was "developing a multinational maritime effort, Operation Sentinel, to increase surveillance of and security in key waterways in the Middle East to ensure freedom of navigation in light of recent events in the Arabian Gulf region.".

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