BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th November, 2018) NATO is closely monitoring developments around the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, remains in contact with Kiev, and calls for restraint, the alliance's spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said in a statement on Sunday.
Earlier, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) reported that three ships of the Ukrainian Navy � Berdyansk, Nikopol and Yany Kapu � had been detained after violating Russian state border. The Ukrainian ships did not react to legal demands of the ships accompanying them and made dangerous maneuvers, the FSB noted.
"NATO is closely monitoring developments in the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait, and we are in contact with the Ukrainian authorities. We call for restraint and de-escalation," the statement says
NATO fully supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including navigation rights in its territorial waters, it added.
"We call on Russia to ensure unhindered access to Ukrainian ports in the Azov Sea, in accordance with international law," the statement says.
It recalled that NATO had expressed its support to Ukraine at the alliance's July summit, claiming that the "ongoing militarization" of Crimea by Russia undermines the stability in the region.
