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Russian lower house speaker calls on UN and OSCE to condemn UK’s actions

According to Vyacheslav Volodin, consequences of the incident with Royal Navy’s destroyer in the Black Sea might have been disastrous
Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS
Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin
© Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS

MOSCOW, June 27. /TASS/. Speaker of the Russian State Duma lower parliament house Vyacheslav Volodin has called on international organizations, including the United Nations, the OSCE, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, to condemn the United Kingdom’s authorities following the incident with Royal Navy’s destroyer in the Black Sea.

"It would be right for international organizations - the United Nations, OSCE, and PACE and the European Parliament as well - to condemn the British authorities’ actions and call to account those who are behind this reckless step," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

According to Volodin, consequences of the British provocation might have been disastrous. "Any provocations against a nuclear power endanger peace and global security in general," he stressed.

Bearing this in mind, in his words, it is strange that neither the United States nor the European Union have come out with any statements on the necessity of sanctions against Great Britain. "Obviously, they are seeking to silence the incident. It is yet another example of double standards," he added.

On Wednesday, the Russian defense ministry said that the Black Sea Fleet and the Federal Security Service (FSB) border guard service thwarted a violation of the Russian border by HMS Defender off Crimea’s Cape Fiolent. The destroyer reportedly traveled three kilometers into Russia’s territorial waters. A coastal guard ship fired warning shots, followed by several bombs dropped from a Su-24M plane ahead of the Defender, after which the destroyer left Russia’s territorial waters. The Russian defense ministry described the destroyer’s actions as a blatant violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and called on London to investigate the actions of the crew.

The British side claims that the destroyer was conducting "innocent passage through Ukrainian territorial waters." According to London, the Russian military did not fire any shots at the destroyer, but conducted "practice firing."

On Thursday, Russia’s FSB released video footage showing warning shots fired in the direction of the British destroyer in the Black Sea. The footage shows that the Russian border guards repeatedly warned the HMS Defender that they would open fire if the destroyer crossed the Russian border, after which warning shots were fired.