Kiev's Claim About 'Ruined' Naval Ships Unlikely To Affect Four-Way Summit - Peskov

Kiev's Claim About 'Ruined' Naval Ships Unlikely to Affect Four-Way Summit - Peskov

Kiev's claim that Russia "ruined" the three warships it captured for trespassing nearly a year ago is unlikely to dampen the mood of the four leaders when they meet to discuss Ukrainian peace, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st November, 2019) Kiev's claim that Russia "ruined" the three warships it captured for trespassing nearly a year ago is unlikely to dampen the mood of the four leaders when they meet to discuss Ukrainian peace, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.

Russia handed over the two gunboats and a tugboat to Ukraine on Monday. Ukrainian navy chief Ihor Voronchenko claimed they had been stripped of their equipment and could not move on their own. Russia's FSB security agency argued the ships were in good condition. The row comes ahead of a summit of Russian, Ukrainian, French and German leaders in Paris on December 9.

"I do not think that [the claim] can have any effect, considering that the FSB had already given its explanation," Peskov told reporters in response to whether the claim of equipment theft could affect preparations for the peace summit.

The three naval ships and their crews were captured on November 25, 2018 after they entered the Russian waters near Crimea and maneuvered dangerously, in what Russian President Vladimir Putin described as a provocation. The sailors were repatriated on September 7 as part of a simultaneous release of people detained by Ukraine and Russia.