Kremlin says relations with US are 'lamentable' and at lowest level

March 15, 2023

Kremlin says relations with US are ‘lamentable’ and at lowest level after US called out reckless Russian pilots for downing American Reaper drone into the Black Sea

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was no contact with Washington
But he added that Russia would never refuse to engage in constructive dialog

The Kremlin said that relations with the US are ‘lamentable’ and at the lowest level after the US called out the reckless Russian pilots that downed the American Reaper drone into the Black Sea.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that there had been no high-level contact with Washington over the incident, but said Russia would never refuse to engage in constructive dialog.

The US military said on Tuesday that a Russian fighter plane had clipped the propeller of one of its spy drones as it flew over the Black Sea in international air space, causing it to fall into the water.

Russia denied this, suggesting it had crashed due to ‘sharp maneuvering.’

According to military officials, the Russian pilots repeatedly dumped fuel onto the drone and flew in front of it in a ‘reckless’ and ‘professional’ manner before a collision caused the American UAV to crash.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov (left, pictured with Russian president Vladimir Putin) told reporters that there had been no high-level contact with Washington over the incident, but said Russia would never refuse to engage in constructive dialog

The US military said on Tuesday that a Russian fighter plane had clipped the propeller of one of its spy drones (like the one above) as it flew over the Black Sea in international air space, causing it to fall into the water

The Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, has now accused the US of an ‘act of provocation’ and claims its fighter did not hit a US drone that crashed into the Black Sea on Tuesday.

‘We view this incident as a provocation,’ he said.

He made the comments after being summoned by the US State Department to answer for the downing of one of its surveillance drones in international airspace.

‘What would the be reaction of the United States if you see such a Russian drone very close to, for example, San Francisco or New York?’ Antonov asked reporters as he left the department building in Washington. ‘For me it’s clear, for you as well.’

The US surveillance drone crashed into the sea after a two Russian Su-27 jets ambushed it, dumped fuel on it, and eventually struck its propeller, the Pentagon said.

Russia has denied that any contact was made and says the drone crashed after ‘sharp maneuvering’. Its Defense Ministry claimed the drone was flying toward its airspace with its transponder turned off, and the Russian fighters were dispatched to investigate.

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