Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the Varyag missile cruiser of the Pacific Fleet to watch a military exercise near Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, on Sakhalin Island, Russia, Wednesday. AP-Yonhap
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday threatened retaliation for Western seizures of its commercial vessels , describing them as “piracy.”
Speaking on a visit to a Russian warship that was taking part in a naval exercise in the Pacific, Putin described the Western moves to detain vessels linked to Russia as a breach of international maritime law.
“It’s nothing but piracy and robbery,” Putin said. “If this is done, we will be forced to respond in kind.”
He added that the Russian response wouldn't necessarily come in the waters where the Russian ships were seized, noting that Moscow could retaliate “in any area where we see it as necessary and appropriate,” including in the Pacific.
