Russia is the "assaulted" state rather than an "aggressive" one in the recent Russian-Ukrainian naval incident, which led to the UN General Assembly passing a resolution on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, Gianmatteo Ferrari, a member of Italy's Lega party, told Sputnik.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th December, 2018) Russia is the "assaulted" state rather than an "aggressive" one in the recent Russian-Ukrainian naval incident, which led to the UN General Assembly passing a resolution on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, Gianmatteo Ferrari, a member of Italy's Lega party, told Sputnik.Ukraine's draft resolution, urging Russia to ensure freedom of international navigation in both seas, was backed, earlier this week, by 66 states and rejected by 19, while 72 abstained. Its adoption was preceded by the naval incident near the Kerch Strait, connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, where Ukrainian ships breached Russian border and were detained, alongside their crew, by Russia.
"Russia is once again the assaulted state and not the aggressive state. Let us not forget that the Ukranian warships have trespassed international waters by entering Russian national waters. A madness that the whole world should have condemned and instead as always, is silent," Ferrari said.
The Italian politician added that some attempts to "maneuver the international opinion" resurfaced every time "when the tension seems to loosen and we talk about removing the sanctions against Russia."
Pyotr Ilyichev, the director of the Department of International Organizations at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Tuesday that the adoption of the resolution was part of a subjective campaign against Moscow.
