The Pentagon scrapped plans to send US warships to the Black Sea this week amid escalating tensions near Ukraine’s borders. This was reported on April 15 by Politico, citing a source.
The source noted that ship movements can often change due to changes in plans. According to him, the movement of US ships was suspended for “a variety of reasons.”
Earlier that day, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed that the United States had canceled the passage of its warships into the Black Sea.
Commenting on this information, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that the situation related to the dispatch of US warships to the Black Sea remains tense. According to him, it is too early to say that the suspension of the cruise of the two destroyers will lead to detente.
As Izvestia sources in the military department reported on April 14, the US Navy destroyers Roosevelt and Donald Cook suspended their movement towards the Black Sea. The ships changed their route and entered the island of Crete, where they spent the whole day.
On April 12, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, commenting on the sending of ships to the Black Sea by Washington, said that the incident was accompanied by aggressive rhetoric.
On Friday, April 9, the United States warned Turkey that two US warships would pass through the Bosphorus to the Black Sea next week. Ankara, in turn, later notified Moscow of Washington’s plans. The US added that the ships will stay in the Black Sea until May 4.