Russia’s naval exercises in the Mediterranean fully agree with international law, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after talks with Eritrea’s Foreign Minister Osman Saleh Mohammed on Friday.
"As far as Russian naval exercises in the Mediterranean are concerned, they are an absolutely normal thing," Lavrov said. "Any country is free to conduct exercises in accordance with international law: either in its own territory, or in the territory of other countries in coordination with them, or on the high seas, which fully agrees with international rules."
He advised the media to address the question about the West’s nervous reaction to the exercise to "those who tend to make a mountain out of a molehill."
"I cannot rule out that this is yet another in a series of horror stories being spread around the world which blame Russia for everything that may happen on the globe. The sole exception is we haven’t been charged with responsibility for earthquakes and tsunami yet," he said.
"In the Black Sea, near our shores, NATO countries hold regular exercises and the scale of the exercises is growing. The scenario of all such war games is outspokenly aggressive," Lavrov said. "They simulate amphibious operations on the Black Sea coast. You can easily judge for yourself what they are getting ready for and what kind of relations they wish to have with Russia."
Lavrov recalled that the Mediterranean was far enough away from the capitals that make such a fuss over Russia’s presence there (in the Mediterranean).
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