(Moscow) Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday described as “provocation” military exercises carried out by Washington and NATO in the Black Sea, during a telephone interview with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, according to the Kremlin.
In his conversation with Mr. Macron, Mr. Putin “drew attention to the provocative nature of the large-scale exercises carried out by the United States and some of its allies in the Black Sea which heighten tensions between Russia and the United States. ‘NATO,’ the Kremlin said in a statement.
The Russian president seemed to allude to the participation of several US military ships in exercises in the Black Sea that Moscow had said last week to “monitor” and that Mr. Putin had described as “serious challenge”.
Very tense situation
His latest charge comes against a backdrop of growing tensions around the conflict in Ukraine, a country bordering the Black Sea.
The situation in this region has been very tense since the annexation in 2014 by Russia of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. For more than seven years, Ukraine has been in conflict with pro-Russian separatists in the east of its territory.
Tensions have escalated in recent days, with the United States and the European Union expressing concern over a recent deployment of Russian troops to the border of the Black Sea country.
During the telephone interview with Mr. Poutine on Monday, Mr. Macron said his “strong concern” and his “desire to defend the entire territory of Ukraine”, according to the French presidency.
For his part, Mr. Putin accused Kiev of pursuing a “destructive policy”, citing “the recent use by Ukraine of drones in the conflict zone,” the Kremlin said.
Ukraine’s use of a Turkish combat drone against pro-Russian separatists last month has indeed aroused Moscow’s ire.
Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the conflict in Ukraine has claimed more than 13,000 lives.