Ambassador Kelin says Moscow's response to London's attempts to delay ships is indispensable

Moscow will give a legitimate response to possible British attempts to detain Russian ships. This was stated by Russian Ambassador to London Andrei Kelin on February 7.

He noted that the detention of ships contradicts the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Law of the Sea, according to which the possibilities of detention are extremely limited: it can be done on suspicion of slave trade or smuggling.

"If this hypothetically happens, a violation of the provisions of the convention, we will naturally have the right to defend our interests by all legal means. But it is unlikely that it will come to that, because there will definitely be a response from our side, and it will be absolutely legal, legitimate and justified," Kelin said on the air of the TV channel "Russia 24".

The Russian ambassador to the UK also emphasized that statements about possible detentions of Russian ships come mainly from the British military and show the country's readiness for "concrete action," but this requires a political decision.

Earlier, on January 26, the media reported on the readiness of the British military to detain Russian ships off the coast of the country. It was specified that the U.S. urged Britain to strengthen control over the coast because of the threat of attack on critical infrastructure, which allegedly comes from Russia.

Prior to that, on January 23, the Russian Embassy called the statements of the Ministry of Defense of Great Britain about alleged threats to the country's underwater communications from the Russian side untenable. It noted that such threats had never come from Russia.

Military expert Alexei Leonkov said on January 20 that NATO countries' attempts to block the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea would be a pretext for war, for which the North Atlantic Alliance, unlike Russia, is not ready.

The West regularly stirs up hysteria among the citizens of its countries, allegedly warning of an imminent NATO war with Russia. At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that there is nothing of the sort in the country's plans, but that it is ready for any scenario.