German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Monday urged Moscow and Kiev to de-escalate tensions after the naval incident in the Kerch Strait.
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th November, 2018) German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Monday urged Moscow and Kiev to de-escalate tensions after the naval incident in the Kerch Strait.On Sunday, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said that three ships of the Ukrainian Navy in violation of Articles 19 and 21 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea crossed the Russian sea border, entered the temporarily closed area of the Russian territorial waters, and were moving from the Black Sea toward the Kerch Strait. The Ukrainian ships did not react to legal demands of the ships accompanying them, made dangerous maneuvers and were detained after violating Russian state borders, according to the FSB.
"The situation is concerning. The Russian blockade of the passage to the Azov Sea is unacceptable. It is important to lift this blockade. We call on both sides to de-escalate," Maas said on Twitter.
The Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) earlier on Monday decided to impose martial law on the territory of Ukraine for a period of 60 days. The chief of the Ukrainian General Staff has ordered to put the country's armed forces on full combat alert.
Later in the day, the issue will be discussed at a meeting of the Normandy Four in Berlin.
