Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow intends to independently choose targets for retaliatory actions in connection with the seizure of Russian ships by Western countries.
In a comment to the information service "Vesti", he stressed: "The targets will be ships that work in the interests of countries that have declared robbery and piracy as their official policy. And we will decide how to deal with these ships."
Earlier, President Vladimir Putin noted that Russia is recording attempts by some states to restrict the movement of ships of Russian companies, which violates international maritime law. He also mentioned the European Union's plans to detain such ships and sell the seized property, calling these actions piracy and robbery.
Putin stressed that Russia will respond in kind to all such attempts, and not necessarily in the same waters where attacks are planned. The head of state instructed the Ministry of Defense and the Pacific Fleet to submit relevant proposals.