Moscow Says EU Justification Of Sanctions Over Kerch Strait Incident Hypocritical, Cynical

The Russian Foreign Ministry slammed on Saturday the European Union for new Russia sanctions over the Kerch Strait incident, calling the pretext used by the bloc to justify the measures hypocritical and cynical

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th March, 2019) The Russian Foreign Ministry slammed on Saturday the European Union for new Russia sanctions over the Kerch Strait incident, calling the pretext used by the bloc to justify the measures hypocritical and cynical.

"On March 15, the Council of the European Union adopted unilateral restrictive measures against a number of Russian citizens. The pretext for including our compatriots in the illegitimate sanctions lists of the EU is striking in its hypocrisy and cynicism," the ministry said in a statement.

"The EU's claims that Russia 'violated international law' and used force without grounds is completely untrue. It is known that that day [November 25] two ships of the Ukrainian navy with the SBU [Security Service of Ukraine] personnel officers onboard tried to break from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov in violation of the right of peaceful passage through the Russian territorial waters," the ministry added.

The incident in the Kerch Strait between Russia and Ukraine, when three Ukrainian ships were detained after illegally crossing Russian border in November 2018, has further deteriorated the relationship between Moscow and the European Union.

The European Union has extended its sanction list by adding eight people on it in relation to the Kerch Strait incident, according to the EU press release published on Friday.