US won't be 'intimidated' by Russia on the high seas: Kerry
Iran Press TV
Fri Apr 15, 2016 12:26AM
US Secretary of State John Kerry has condemned a "simulated attack" on a US guided missile destroyer in the Baltic Sea by two Russian fighter jets, saying the American military would have been within its rights to shoot down the aircraft.
Two Russian Sukhoi SU-24 warplanes flew within meters of the USS Donald Cook on Monday, the US military said on Wednesday, calling it one of the most aggressive interactions in recent history.
Russia on Thursday denied its aircraft were engaged in reckless or provocative behavior, saying the fighter jets "turned away in observance of all safety measures" after observing the US Navy warship.
"We condemn this kind of behavior," Kerry said in a joint interview with CNN Espanol and the Miami Herald on Thursday.
"It is reckless. It is provocative. It is dangerous. And under the rules of engagement, that could have been a shoot-down," he claimed.
"People need to understand that this is serious business and the United States is not going to be intimidated on the high seas," the top US diplomat warned.
"We are communicating to the Russians how dangerous this is and our hope is that this will never be repeated," Kerry added.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that Su-24 jets were conducting test flights in the area and "having observed the ship, turned away in observance of all safety measures."
"Frankly speaking, we don't understand such a sore reaction from our US colleagues," Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in the statement.
"With the US Navy destroyer in operational proximity of the Russian navy's Baltic fleet base, the principle of its free sea navigation does not negate the principle of free air navigation of Russian planes," the statement explained.
A senior US military official told CBS News on Wednesday the incident took place on April 11, when the USS Donald Cook was confronted by two Sukhoi SU-24 warplanes in international waters off Russia.
The warship had left the Polish port of Gdynia and was about 70 nautical miles from Kaliningrad in the Baltic Sea and the Russian jets made 20 passes of it while flying within 915 meters (1,000 yards) at an altitude of just 30 meters (100 feet), the official said.
Such close encounters between Russian jets and US warships patrolling near Russian territorial waters are not unprecedented.
Last year the Pentagon said that a close-flying Russian jet flew within a few thousand feet of the USS Donald Cook which was conducting a "routine mission" at the time.
The unarmed Russian plane made at least 12 passes over a period of about 90 minutes. The event ended without incident.
US Army Colonel Steve Warren called the action "provocative and unprofessional."
Also in June 2015, US navy released footage that purported to show a Russian SU-24 flying in close proximity over USS Ross in the Baltic Sea.
Washington believes the overflights breach a 1970s agreement which was designed to prevent such unsafe incidents at sea.
The incidents come as tensions are on the rise between the US and Russia over the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.
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