The Russian Foreign Ministry called on Washington and NATO to "soberly assess the risks" in connection with US military activity in the Black Sea region.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov claims that the training events periodically conducted by the West are actually provocative actions.
"We have repeatedly urged our colleagues in the United States and NATO to soberly assess the risks associated with this, but nevertheless they continue to persistently bend the line, testing our will and determination to protect our own interests, thereby encouraging the worst that is observed in Kiev's policy," he said in a comment to TASS.
According to Ryabkov, Kiev's policy is "over the top cynicism" and denial of the basics of resolving the situation in the south-east of the country, which leads to the accumulation of conflict potential.
"All this leads to the fact that conflict potential is accumulating in the region, but we are showing restraint," the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia concluded. Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the actions of the United States in the Black Sea are connected with the study of a possible theater of military operations in the preparation by Kiev of a military solution in the Donbass.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that the US military will conduct military operations, including in the Black Sea, "as they see fit."
