Any attempts by Western countries to attack Russian merchant ships will be met with an immediate and extremely harsh response from Moscow, said Russian Ambassador to Ottawa Oleg Stepanov.
He said this while commenting on the joint statement by the Canadian and Finnish foreign ministries on paying special attention to the risks posed by Russia’s “shadow fleet.”
“Any attempts to attack our merchant ships will be met with an immediate and extremely harsh response,” TASS quoted Stepanov as saying.
He stressed that Canada and Finland have no choice but to fill public documents with “seemingly meaningful but actually empty slogans.”
Since July 1, Germany has tightened control over ships heading east in the Baltic Sea.
First Deputy Minister of Energy of Russia Pavel Sorokin said in an interview with RT that attempts by Western countries to detain or arrest Russian tankers in the Baltic Sea are similar to piracy and lead to an increase in risk premiums around the world.
