Speaking at an event in Sochi on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called France’s seizure of the Russian-linked Boracay oil tanker “piracy.”
As per AFP, Putin responded to a question about the ship.
“This is piracy. I am aware of this case - the tanker was seized in neutral waters without any justification,” he said.
The French navy are said to have boarded the ship on Saturday, according to an unnamed military source cited by AFP.
Although the Boracay sails under the flag of Benin, it has been blacklisted by the European Union on suspicion of belonging to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” – used for sanctions-busting.
AFP also established that the ship was moored off the coast of Denmark last month, when a number of unidentified drones grounded flights at Copenhagen airport for several hours.
When questioned, French President Emmanuel Macron declined to confirm or deny whether authorities suspected that the ship may have been involved in the drone flights.
However, he told reporters that the crew are suspected of “very serious offenses.”
Also on Thursday, French authorities announced that the vessel’s Chinese captain will stand trial in February.
Putin said that there was no military cargo on the ship, although it is unclear why he would have this information.