Moscow. April 3. INTERFAX - US warships will not return to the Black Sea until the mine danger created in the region by the Armed Forces of Ukraine is completely eliminated, Deputy Secretary of the Security Council (SB) of the Russian Federation Mikhail Popov believes.
"American ships will be afraid to return to the Black Sea in the near future. They will wait for the complete elimination of the mine danger," Popov said in an interview published on the website of the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper on Sunday.
This is how he commented on the Pentagon's statement about the withdrawal of American warships from the Black Sea, calling the explanation of the American side's unwillingness to escalate tensions in the region during the Russian special military operation an excuse.
According to Popov, "the presence of a mine danger seriously puzzled the command of the US Navy (Naval Forces - IF)."
"Those classes of ships with missile weapons that traditionally enter the Black Sea are not intended for independent mine action. And in general, the fight against sea mines has never been the strength of the American navy," Popov explained.
At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that "with a swing at world domination, the United States has only eight obsolete Avenger-type minesweepers and three minesweeping helicopter squadrons."
"Naturally, in the advanced zones, the United States relies on NATO allies, whose mine-fighting capabilities are also limited," Popov said, answering the question whether the US position means that NATO is obliged to clear the Black Sea of "friendly" Ukrainian mines.
Nevertheless, another reason for the non-return of the Pentagon ships to the Black Sea, the last of which left the Black Sea in mid-December 2021, on the eve of Catholic Christmas, he called the Americans' fears that the Russian Black Sea Fleet is participating in a special military operation. "This is one of the reasons," Popov said.
According to him, the beginning of Russia's special operation "obviously made adjustments to the plans for the return of the American presence in the Black Sea." "The history of provocations against the Russian navy is replete with examples of irresponsible behavior of American sailors and the restrained reaction of the Russian Navy. However, under the circumstances, the American command apparently realized that it might not be possible to "tease the Russian bear" with impunity without dangerous consequences," he noted.
He called another reason precisely that "the Ukrainian friends of the Americans have greatly aggravated the security situation in the Black Sea."
Popov recalled that at the end of February 2022, Ukrainian sailors trained by American instructors "hastily exposed more than 400 anchor mines off the coasts of Odessa, Ochakov and Chernomorsk, some of which were allegedly torn off by a stormy wind and carried into the open sea."
"As a result, these "wandering" mines turned from defensive weapons of Ukraine into offensive weapons aimed at the Black Sea countries of NATO and other guests of the Black Sea. The first alarm signal was received on March 3, when an Estonian cargo ship "Helt" was blown up on a drifting Ukrainian mine. After vague explanations in Kiev and NATO, this case was hushed up in order to avoid accusing Ukraine of sloppiness and planned military provocations. However, a little later, "surprises" in the form of Ukrainian mines were found already off the coasts of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. Including in the Bosphorus Strait, known for the intensity of its shipping," Popov recalled.
