Russia said on Monday that the Kerch Strait incident was a Ukrainian provocation, stressing that its time, location and form were premeditated.
“Obviously, it was a provocation, with its time, location and form premeditated. The aims [of the provocation] are clear: to shake Ukraine up via imposing martial law, and to mobilize the anti-Russian policies of the West, to step up the anti-Russian sanctions. Obviously, it is easier for [Ukrainian President Petro] Poroshenko to carry out his election campaign amid this background,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told Sputnik.
Kiev and the West have chosen the Sea of Azov as a place where Ukrainian provocations could promptly give results able to trigger an international scandal, Karasin added.
“Unfortunately, our worst fears have proved true: Kiev and the West have chosen the Sea of Azov as a region where Ukrainian provocative actions can promptly give results that are required in order to trigger an international scandal,” Karasin stressed.
He noted that Russia had requested an urgent meeting of UN Security Council members to discuss the situation in the Sea of Azov.
The passage through the Kerch Strait, connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, which was closed over security reasons on 25 November, was resumed on 26 November, Alexei Volkov, the director general of the Crimean Sea Ports company, told Sputnik.
“Passage through the Kerch Strait is open,” Volkov said.
Source: Sputnik
