MOSCOW, July 21. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has excoriated remarks by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba who claimed that Russia can turn the Black Sea into its internal lake, as nothing but as nonsense.

According to Zakharova, Kuleba said that he knew how to prevent Moscow "from turning the Black Sea into its inner lake." He alleged that Russia could divide the sea into two halves and "would begin to control its zone completely." "I know how to do that too. The sooner Kuleba stops spouting such drivel, the sooner the lake will again become a sea, both halves of which will connect," Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel on Wednesday.

Kuleba earlier commented on the outcome of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s visit to Georgia, saying that Kiev could come up with proposals to counter Russia in the Black Sea, and that these initiatives are being hashed over with Georgia, Moldova and NATO members. According to the top Ukrainian diplomat, "if the Black Sea countries and NATO members plus Ukraine, Georgia - and a place for Moldova can be found in that mechanism as well - do not team up, Russia will turn the Black Sea into its inner lake, split it into two halves and start to dominate its zone completely.".