New Delhi: According to latest reports, a senior Kremlin official, Nikolai Patrushev, a Kremlin aide with responsibility for shipping and a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has warned that Russia’s navy could stop Western powers from seizing Russian vessels as part of sanctions against the country’s oil shipments and Moscow’s so-called “shadow fleet”. He was quoted making these statements on Tuesday when he said how Russia needed to send a strong message, particularly to the United Kingdom, France and Baltic states.
An important declaration
Patrushev said that Russia has to be able to ship oil, grains and fertilisers to keep its economy operating. Accusing Russia’s opponents, particularly in the West, he talked of them targeting one of the most important sectors of the Russian economy, shipping.
“We believe that, as at all times, the best guarantor of navigation safety is the navy,” Patrushev said in comments made to Moscow’s Argumenty i Fakty newspaper, where he referred to “piracy-like attacks” by Western countries on Russian shipping. “If we do not resist decisively, the English, the French, and even the Balts will soon be so bold as to try to block access to the seas for our country, at least in the Atlantic Basin,” he warned.
“In the main maritime areas, including regions far from Russia, substantial forces must be permanently deployed – forces capable of cooling the ardour of Western pirates,” he further added. He also argued that Western powers were undergoing radical technological change and modernisation in their navies. He termed it a clear “gunboat diplomacy” that was being operated from Washington, like it was done in the case of Venezuela and Iran.
He further talked of plans of NATO military alliance of the blockade of the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea, saying, “By implementing their naval blockade plans, the Europeans are deliberately pursuing a scenario of military escalation, testing the limits of our patience and provoking active retaliatory measures.” “If a peaceful resolution to this situation fails, the blockade will be broken and eliminated by the navy,” he added.