SIMFEROPOL, Aug 1-RIA Novosti. Russia and the United States have agreed to prevent military incidents at sea near their own territories and adhere to the agreement, a military clash will occur only in the event of an extreme aggravation of the situation preceding the war, Sergei Gorbachev, captain of the first rank of the reserve, who served in the Black Sea Fleet, director of the Institute of CIS countries in Sevastopol, told RIA Novosti.
Earlier, the commander of the US Navy in Europe and Africa, Admiral Robert Burke, said that it could be argued that Russia is "provoking" the US to strike in the Black Sea first, but noted that this will not happen if there are no provocations. His words were quoted by the publication Business Insider.
The " hot " version of a military clash in the Black Sea is possible only in the case of a high degree of aggravation of the situation, comparable to the eve of war… I am sure that neither we nor the United States would have opened fire to kill if it had not been for the declaration of hostilities. The fire can be opened in cases that require actions of exactly this nature. To prevent such incidents, just half a century ago, by the way, with the active work of the first deputy commander of the USSR Navy, Admiral of the Fleet Vladimir Kasatonov, an agreement was signed between our countries on the prevention of conflicts at sea during active naval activities near each other's territories, " Gorbachev said.
This agreement continues to operate, has practice, experience and military means have never been used, the interlocutor noted. In case of violation of territorial waters, all means should be used to squeeze out the enemy ship, by analogy with the situation that occurred in the Black Sea off the coast of Crimea in 1988, the expert recalled.
"No one will open fire to kill as long as it is not caused by expediency. In this regard, the actions of the commander of the patrol ship "Selfless" Vladimir Ivanovich Bogdashin, who has already passed away, are indicative in 1988, when, without using weapons, he found methods to solve the problem of ousting our probable enemy and violator from our territorial waters. This did not lead to shooting at each other either in the Black Sea or in the Mediterranean Sea, where the forces of our operational squadron were operating at that time. The Americans have drawn conclusions and have not allowed such provocations for decades, " Gorbachev said.
Practice shows that the Americans are not " very eager to fight, especially with a country like Russia," the expert said.
