According to the Russian news website 'Vesti.ru', Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said in an interview on August 13 local time that Russia will 'decide on its own' which Western ships to seize as counteraction to the actions of Western countries that have seized Russian ships.
We will choose our target independently, "Lavrov told Vesti.ru," Western countries regard "robbery and piracy" as official policies, Russia's goal will be to serve the interests of these countries by ships, and we will decide how to deal with these ships.
Lavrov pointed out that all ships that do not comply with EU requirements, regardless of the flag they fly, are classified as ‘shadow fleets’ by the EU. This ‘illegal decision’ of the EU aims to restrict Russia from making profits in the global market.
He stated that the EU's approach is "extremely dangerous" because they claim their decisions override international law.
Previously, Russian President Putin said during his inspection of the Russian Pacific Fleet exercises that if Western countries capture Russian merchant ships, Moscow would retaliate. “If these plans are carried out, we will have to take countermeasures.”
Putin emphasized that this is not just about the areas where Russian ships may be detained, “but anywhere we deem necessary and appropriate—anywhere, including the area of responsibility of the Pacific Fleet”.
