The head of the Crimean parliament’s committee for people’s diplomacy and interethnic relations, Yuriy Hempel, has called British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s position on shipping in the Black Sea off the coast of Crimea a dangerous game
Johnson earlier told Bloomberg news agency that the passage of a British destroyer in the Black Sea was “quite appropriate”. According to him, these are Ukrainian waters and it was entirely appropriate to use them for a passage from point A to point B. Johnson also stressed that the UK does not recognise the “annexation of Crimea”.
“The British prime minister’s position on navigation in the Black Sea off the coast of Crimea is a dangerous game that could lead to quite serious conflicts, which would then be very difficult to resolve diplomatically. The Russian side is well aware of this, which is why no harsh measures have been taken to punish the trespassers, but it cannot go on like this for long. Severe response will not be long in coming if provocations are repeated”, – Hempel told RIA Novosti.
In his words, the fact that Britain does not recognize Crimea as Russian is “their problem”.
“Crimeans are outraged by such behaviour by the UK military and its authorities. We urge that only diplomatic methods of interaction with Russia be used and that the choice of the Crimean people be respected”, – Hempel stressed.
On Wednesday, the Russian Defence Ministry said that the British destroyer Defender crossed the Russian border near Cape Fiolent (Crimea). A Russian border ship then fired a warning shot and an Su-24M aircraft made a “warning bombardment” over the course of the destroyer’s movement. The British Ministry of Defence and the Government Office said that the destroyer had not been fired upon and was not in Russian territorial waters. The British side insists that the ship was making a peaceful passage through Ukraine’s territorial waters in line with international law.