British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said about the increased activity of Russian ships off the coast of the United Kingdom, calling Russia “the enemy, which is the number one threat”.
“We are regularly visited by curious Russian ships, now we are regularly visited by several Russian warships”, – he told the Telegraph.
According to the minister, Great Britain tried to pursue a policy of de-escalation and use “other methods”.
“But now, until Russia changes its attitude, it is rather difficult to understand where we are going”, – Wallace added.
The minister also said that at the end of last year a Russian submarine was seen in the Irish Sea, and noted that the UK had not recorded their presence there for “a very, very long time”.
In March this year, the British Ministry of Defense published a strategy for the modernization of the country’s armed forces, in which, among other things, it confirmed its attitude towards Russia as a threat and spoke about plans to increase its presence in the Black Sea and the Baltic.
The British Navy and Air Force constantly monitor the passage of Russian ships and flights of Russian aircraft near Britain. The Russian Ministry of Defense has repeatedly stressed that the military does not violate borders, follows in international waters and airspace. All escorts are completed without incident, which is confirmed by the British side, which constantly notes the professionalism of the actions of the Russian military.
Statements about the “Russian threat” are periodically heard from the lips of Western politicians. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that Russia will never attack any of the NATO countries. According to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the North Atlantic Alliance is well aware that Moscow has no plans to attack anyone, but is simply using the excuse to deploy more troops near the Russian borders. Moscow has repeatedly expressed concern about the buildup of the alliance’s forces in Europe.