Russia 'ready to open fire' on foreign ships, subs in its waters

WASHINGTON/KYIV • A senior Russian military official said yesterday that the country was ready to open fire on foreign ships and submarines that illegally enter its territorial waters, Interfax news agency reported.

Any such decision would, however, be taken only at the "highest level", the news agency quoted Mr Stanislav Gadzhimagomedov, deputy head of the main operational department of the General Staff, as saying.

The comment came two days after Moscow said a Russian naval vessel had chased away a US submarine in Russian waters in the Pacific. The United States denied it had carried out military operations in Russian territorial waters.

Interfax also quoted Mr Gadzhimagomedov as saying Russia was able to adequately counter the US fleet in the Black and Baltic seas but did not have enough ships and plans to do so in the far east at the moment. All of Russia's military fleets have been carrying out exercises in recent weeks across vast areas, including parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the Mediterranean.

The US said on Sunday that Russia could invade Ukraine at any time and might create a surprise pretext for an attack, as it reaffirmed a pledge to defend "every inch" of Nato territory.

Russia has more than 100,000 troops massed near its border with Ukraine, and Washington - while keeping open the diplomatic channels that have so far failed to ease the crisis - has repeatedly said an invasion is imminent.

Amid the rising tensions, however, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Mr Putin yesterday that Russia should continue talks with the US and its allies on its demands for security guarantees in Europe, suggesting the Kremlin will extend efforts to reach a diplomatic solution. Mr Putin said "all right" in response to Mr Lavrov's proposal, made in comments shown on state television.

Shortly after the session with Mr Lavrov, Mr Putin met Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, who reported that some of the massive military exercises underway had already been concluded, while others will end later. He did not specify plans for returning the troops to their bases, but other officials have said they will go back once the operations are over.

The comments were the clearest signs yet that the Kremlin will continue diplomatic efforts to ease tensions and may even begin to de-escalate in a crisis that has raised fears of war in Europe.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz yesterday said he expects clear steps from Russia to de-escalate the conflict with Ukraine, and that Berlin and its Western allies were prepared for serious dialogue with Moscow over European security.

"We are ready for a serious dialogue with Russia on European security issues," Mr Scholz told a news conference after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.

Mr Scholz also announced new credit of €150 million (S$229 million) from Germany to Ukraine and said the West was ready to impose "very far-reaching and effective sanctions" if Russia violated Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Mr Zelensky declared that joining Nato would guarantee his country's survival, defending an ambition that has enraged his powerful Russian neighbour. "We understand that Nato membership would ensure our security and our territorial integrity," Mr Zelensky told reporters

Meanwhile, a German military plane carrying troop reinforcements landed at Lithuania's Kaunas airport yesterday, a Reuters eyewitness said, the first of several planned deployments. The plane carried around 70 troops of what is expected to grow to a 360-strong German deployment, which comes on top of existing Nato forces in the region, a spokesman for the alliance's enhanced forward presence battle group said.

Separately, Ukraine has requested an urgent meeting with Russia and dozens of other European states to explain Moscow's build-up of troops along the frontier of the former Soviet state, said Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba late on Sunday. The 1990 Vienna Document requires the 57 members of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe to share information about their military forces and notify each other about major activities.

However, in a sign that Moscow was ready to further ratchet up tensions, lawmakers from the ruling United Russia party have proposed a draft resolution to seek the Foreign Ministry's view on whether to call for the recognition of two breakaway Ukrainian regions as independent, the Parliament's database showed yesterday.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS, BLOOMBERG