Russia Turkey

J.E.DYER: RUSSIAN WARSHIP SAID TO FIRE SMALL-ARMS WARNING SHOT AT TURKISH TRAWLER IN AEGEAN…….

There is going to be many more of these run-ins, we haven’t seen the last of them.

 

Russian warship said to fire small-arms warning shot at Turkish fishing vessel in Aegean

Black Sea Fleet destroyer Smetlivy. (Image via sevastopol.info)This incident reportedly took place on Sunday, while the Russian Kashin-class destroyer, RFSSmetlivy, was anchored near Greece’s Lemnos Island in the northern Aegean Sea.  (Map below.)

The Russian ministry of defense announced that the event had occurred, stating that the fishing boat approached the destroyer too closely and did not respond to warnings.

A Russian defence ministry statement said the Turkish vessel approached to 600m (1,800ft) before turning away in response to Russian small arms fire.

An approach distance of 1,800 feet, or 600 yards, is hardly unusual in the crowded Aegean.  Depending on where a ship anchors, it may not be possible for other ships to come and go, for perfectly legitimate reasons, without getting that close.  According to the Bosphorus Naval News site,Smetlivy’s location at the time of the incident was about 22 km (11 nautical miles, or about 14 statute miles) east of Lemnos Island.

At any rate, this whole incident reeks of “he said/she said” on both sides.  There are a number of questions to be answered before forming a judgment about what happened in this incident.

(Google map; author annotation)

(Google map; author annotation)

The Russians have rushed out to characterize it favorably for their narrative.  The Sputnik outlet has even produced a handy collation of social media and comment-board reactions from Western audiences, which it presents under the subject line “Western Media Readers on Aegean Sea Incident: ‘Kick Turkey Out of NATO’.”  (In the article, Sputnik quotes from some commenters who have no idea what they’re talking about.  Their assertions certainly make the most arresting soundbites.)

More here.

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