Kremlin says Russia has right to defend itself from ‘piracy’ after report of warship escort near UK
MOSCOW, April 9 (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia had “the right to defend itself against what it calls piracy” after Britain’s Telegraph newspaper reported that a Russian navy frigate was escorting British-approved tankers across the English Channel.
According to the Telegraph newspaper, Admiral Grigorovich, a frigate belonging to the Russian navy, escorted two UK-approved oil tankers, the Russian-flagged Universal and the Cameroon-flagged Enigma, through the English Channel.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked about the news in the press, said that cases that Moscow defines as piracy in international waters have been seen repeatedly and that Russia will take action to ensure the security of its own shipping.
“Over the past few months, we have witnessed repeated incidents of piracy in international waters. These incidents of piracy, among other things, have harmed the economic interests of the Russian Federation,” Peskov told reporters.
“The Russian Federation considers itself authorized to take measures to protect its interests and will definitely do so.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last month that he had authorized the military to board and detain Russian ships in British waters to disrupt a network of ships that his government said allowed Moscow to export oil despite Western sanctions.
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov, Writing by Anna Peverieri; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
