Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov says Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s request that NATO ships be sent to the Sea of Azov is related to the upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine and Poroshenko’s wish to increase tension.
When asked about Russia’s attitude to Poroshenko’s request, Peskov said “negative.”
When a journalist asked for a more detailed answer, he said, “The very fact of this call is aimed at the further escalation of tension and continues the provocative course of action.”
“At its [the call’s] core is the campaign and the domestic political interests of President Poroshenko,” Peskov said.
Asked what Russia will do if NATO decides to send ships to the Sea of Azov, Peskov said, “Hypothetical conjectures are hardly appropriate in this case.”
Poroshenko said on November 28 that one way to support Ukraine given the situation in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea was to send several NATO ships to the Black Sea. He told the U.S. television channel NBC that the issue of which countries might provide those ships could be discussed, but that they had to be NATO members in order “to prevent Russia from continuing its aggressive conduct.”
