By Guy Faulconbridge
MOSCOW, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Russia could use its navy to prevent European powers from seizing its ships and could retaliate against European shipping if Russian ships are seized, Nikolai Patrushev, one of Russia’s hardliner leaders, was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
Western states have sought to cripple Russia’s economy with sanctions and in recent months have tried to block oil tankers suspected of involvement in Russian oil shipments. In January, the United States seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker as part of efforts to curb Venezuelan oil exports.
Patrushev, a Kremlin aide who is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said Russia needed to give a tough response – particularly to Britain, France and the Baltic states.
“If we do not give them a hard rejection, then soon the British, the French and even the Balts (Baltic nations) will become so arrogant that they will try to block our country’s access to the seas at least in the Atlantic basin,” said Patrushev, who serves as chairman of the Maritime Board of Russia, to the Russian media Arguk.
“In the main maritime areas, including regions far from Russia, substantial forces should be permanently deployed – forces capable of cooling the ardor of Western pirates,” he said.
Patrushev said that the fleet of the main powers were going through a radical technological change and modernization amid what he said was clear “gunboat diplomacy” from Washington on Venezuela and Iran. He said that Russia’s updated shipbuilding program until 2050 will be submitted for approval soon.
He also said that Russia believes that the NATO military alliance planned to blockade the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea.
“Any attempt at a naval blockade of our country is completely illegal from the point of view of international law, and the concept of a ‘shadow fleet’, which EU representatives mark at every turn, is a legal fiction,” he said.
The shadow fleet refers to a network of vessels that Western nations say are operated by Russia to evade sanctions.
“By implementing their naval blockade plans, the Europeans are deliberately following a scenario of military escalation, testing the limits of our patience and provoking active retaliatory measures,” Patrushev said. “If a peaceful solution to this situation fails, the blockade will be broken and eliminated by the fleet.”
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Ros Russell)