OREANDA-NEWS. American warships have nothing to do off the coast of Russia. This statement was made by the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ryabkov.

Ryabkov told reporters: "I would not like to go into questions of different interpretations of what freedom of navigation and freedom of the sea are, especially in this context. I know one thing that American warships near our shores have absolutely nothing to do. These are purely provocative measures, which they carry out. "

He said that what the Americans are doing now is "provocative measures in the truest sense of the word. They test us for strength, play on our nerves. They will not succeed in this."

According to Ryabkov, the development of water areas thousands of miles from the bases of the US Navy is always an element of a certain geopolitics.

Earlier, a source in the Turkish Foreign Ministry told RIA Novosti that Washington had notified Ankara about the passage of its two warships through the Bosphorus to the Black Sea, where they would be stationed from April 14-15 to May 4-5.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that the operations of American warships in the Black Sea are "routine", the United States is coordinating these actions with the Turkish authorities within the framework of the Montreux Convention.