Russian President Putin stated on the 12th that if Western countries seize Russian ships, Russia will respond in kind.
While attending a Pacific Fleet exercise, he said that Russia would be forced to take retaliatory measures, including seizing European merchant vessels in response.
The EU recently approved a new round of sanctions against Russia, allowing its member states to sell seized so-called Russian “shadow fleet” vessels carrying oil and other goods.
Putin also said that NATO’s expansion into the Asia-Pacific region increases the chances of conflict in the area.
He said that with NATO’s penetration into the Asia-Pacific, new military-political blocs are forming and new weapons systems are being deployed, which poses a threat to Russia and increases the likelihood of conflict in the region.
He pointed out that, aside from the Asia-Pacific, tensions are also rising in the Arctic region over the use of the Northern Sea Route. However, Russia is willing to advance Arctic cooperation and fully utilize the advantages of the Northern Sea Route within the framework of existing international maritime law.
According to prior reports from the Russian Ministry of Defense, starting from the 4th, Russia’s Pacific Fleet has been conducting large-scale military exercises in the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the northwestern Pacific Ocean.