Reluctant To Respond To Excessive NATO Military Exercises In The Black Sea, President Putin: No Need

Presiden Rusia Vladimir Putin. (Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru/The Presidential Press and Information Office)

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin is reluctant to overreact military exercises in the Black Sea, despite proposals to hold military exercises in the same region.

In an interview with Pavel Zarubin, President Putin said there was no need to escalate the situation in the region and it was inappropriate for Russia to conduct maneuvers in the Black Sea in response.

"I must say, our Ministry of Defense also submitted a proposal to hold its own unplanned exercises in these territorial waters," President Putin quoted TASS as saying November 13.

"But I believe that this is inappropriate and there is no need to escalate the situation there. Therefore, the Russian Ministry of Defense is nothing more than escorting planes and ships," President Putin continued.

President Putin drew attention to the fact that the United States and its NATO allies are currently holding unplanned exercises in the Black Sea.

Moreover, "not only did they form a fairly strong naval group there, but they also used aviation, including strategic aviation, in these exercises," President Putin said.

"This is partly an answer to your previous question about where and how our strategic aircraft fly," President Putin told the program's host.

"The B-51s used are rather old aircraft, but they are not important aircraft carriers, the important thing is that they carry strategic weapons. This is a serious challenge for us," Putin said.

As previously reported, the activity of NATO warships in the Black Sea has come to Russian President Vladimir Putin's attention, as well as a reason for increasing vigilance, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"This really concerns him and he has talked about this," Peskov told reporters in response to a question about how President Putin feels about US warships in the Black Sea region.

United States warships are present in the Black Sea region not far from the Russian border, in order to take part in a multinational exercise organized by the United States European Command (EUCOM) based in Germany.

Peskov said there are regular contacts between the militaries of the two countries aimed at preventing conflict.

"However, this activity near the Russian border calls for a higher degree of deterrence," as the head of state and defense minister previously said, Peskov said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said several US Navy ships had arrived for multinational exercises in the Black Sea region, which is held by the United States European Command.

According to the ministry, ships such as the USS Porter, a guided-missile destroyer, USNS John Lenthall, a refilling tanker, and the USS Mount Whitney, a command ship, were in the area.