A senior us state Department official said that Russia is waiting for pain and consequences if it does not release the Ukrainian sailors detained during the provocation of Kiev in the Kerch Strait.
"We want the Russians to take the message that they need to release the crew, otherwise there will be consequences, and the pain will only get stronger with time. I think that this is our constant message to the Russians in all directions regarding various forms of aggressive behavior (Russia – ed.), and this (message – ed.) will not be an exception," the official said.
Fifty shades of whining
The transcript of the official's speech was distributed by the press service of the state Department. The name of the representative of the Department is not specified, but in one of the fragments of the speech he calls himself the co-Chairman of the us and Ukraine Commission on strategic partnership. It is known that on the American side this Commission is headed by Secretary of state Mike Pompeo, and with the Ukrainian – foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin.
He also repeated the us position on the incident in the Kerch Strait. According to him, it is "an act of aggression" and "a clear military escalation and a violation of international law and freedom of navigation".
"They (Russia – ed.) should be quite clear that as long as they keep these crew members, we will continue to aggravate the consequences. They have to release the crews, return the ships, and this is not what we will turn a blind eye to," the state Department representative added.
Moscow called on "Western sponsors" of Ukraine to calm down Kiev
Three ships of the Ukrainian Navy Berdyansk, Nikopol and Yana Kapu violated the Russian border on November 25, entered the temporarily closed water area of the Russian territorial sea and moved from the Black sea to the Kerch Strait. They maneuvered dangerously and did not obey the legitimate demands of the Russian authorities. Ukrainian ships with 24 sailors were detained, three Ukrainian soldiers were slightly injured. After the incident, a criminal case was opened against the crews of ships on illegal crossing of the state border, the court detained the sailors.
Vladimir Putin called the incident a provocation, noting that among the crew members of the Ukrainian courts that violated the border, there were two SBU officers who actually led this special operation. Putin stressed that Russian border guards performed their functions to protect the state border.