Moscow.- Russia will respond “symmetrically” to the confiscation of the vessels of its shadow fleet by the EU and the West wherever it deems necessary, warned Russian President Vladimir Putin this Wednesday during a visit to a missile cruiser of the Pacific Fleet.
“We will be obliged to respond symmetrically. And not only in the same seas where they plan their attacks, but wherever we consider it necessary and appropriate, anywhere, including the area of responsibility of the Pacific Fleet,” he said during his speech, broadcast by Russian public television.
During his visit to the missile cruiser ‘Varyag’, the flagship of the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet, to inspect the naval maneuvers of this group as part of a working visit to Siberia and the Far East, Putin drew attention to the recent decisions of the European Union (EU).
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“Some governments, in violation of international maritime law, seek to limit the movement of our economic operators’ vessels, I want to emphasize, civilian ones. Recently, they came up with the idea of requisitioning our vessels and selling the stolen goods, which is nothing more than piracy and looting,” he maintained.
The commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Viktor Liina, responded to the Russian leader that the naval group under his command “has the forces to stop vessels from unfriendly countries and their ghost fleet (…) We are ready to begin the fulfillment of such missions.”
Japan’s “unjustified sanctions”
Aboard the cruiser, Putin inspected—dressed in the uniform of the Russian Navy—the naval maneuvers of this group, which he described as “necessary both to maintain the combat readiness of the fleet and to protect the interests of our country and its security in the Asia-Pacific region.”
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Furthermore, he pointed out that these types of naval exercises are important not only for the Russian Navy “but to perfect the entire military component of Russia in this region,” particularly with the inclusion of the experiences acquired by the Russian Army in the war in Ukraine.
“There is no combat mission that the Pacific Fleet’s naval infantry cannot undertake,” he maintained, indicating that “they are prepared for any task,” and highlighted the participation of these units on the Ukraine front.
He warned that the potential for conflict in the Asia-Pacific region is growing, due to the efforts carried out by NATO to “infiltrate”.
“They are deploying and preparing for the deployment of new weapons systems, which create threats to our country,” he indicated.
Furthermore, he referred to neighboring Japan, which “under the pretext of the events in Ukraine, without delving into the reasons for this conflict, imposed unjustified sanctions against our country.”
“We would like to understand Japan’s position. We are not threatening Japan. We have absolutely no claims against it,” he said, noting that Tokyo recently included Russia in its military doctrine among its main threats.
He recalled that Japan, with which Russia has not signed a peace treaty eight decades after the end of World War II, “has territorial disputes with our country.”
“I am referring to the Kuril Islands. But this is set in international documents, it is a reality established by the results of the Second World War,” he said.
