Russia, U.S. will continue communication to prevent incidents at sea through existing channels - U.S. ambassador
MOSCOW. June 30 (Interfax) - The U.S. and Russia have recently conducted in Moscow consultations on incidents at sea, some actions by Russian naval sailors are tactically aggressive, U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Tefft said.
"We have recently objected to Russia's actions as some of the Russian military actions, which are declared as observation of our vessels, are in actuality tactically aggressive. One cannot come 25 meters close to a vessel. It's very dangerous," he said in an interview with Voice of America Russian Service and Radio Liberty.
"We have recently conducted another round of negotiations in Moscow with the Russian command on incidents at sea, we spoke about sea and air mutual notification. We may not always agree on everything, but it is an attempt by professional military on both sides to discuss all possible details to prevent incidents or confrontation. We will continue communication, the channels for debate are open, but I am very glad that we have conducted this round of negotiations on incidents at sea," he said.
"It's also very important before the NATO summit, and generally, for our military to speak with each other, for them to know the frequencies and call signs, the rules governing the sides' approaching, for pilots and sailors to know how to contact each other, etc. So, in my view it was very useful," he said.
According to earlier reports, the Russian Defense Ministry on June 28 drew the attention of the Pentagon to the massive violation of international rules and the Russian-U.S. agreement by the actions by the U.S. destroyer Gravely, which drew dangerously close to the Russian naval ship Yaroslav Mudry in the Mediterranean.