The Russian Foreign Ministry warned the UK about the consequences of intercepting Russian vessels.

Russia considers UK threats to intercept Russian vessels as a violation of maritime law. Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told reporters at a briefing on January 15.

According to her, London has begun studying the issue of using the national law on sanctions and money laundering as a legal basis for using the armed forces to detain ships on the high seas.

"First of all, this kind of thought process focuses, of course, on harming Russian interests. We will consider the implementation of such aggressive intentions as a direct violation of the provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which the British themselves so faithfully advocate," the diplomat noted.

Zakharova added that Moscow calls on London to abandon the escalation of international tensions and return to a respectful dialogue.

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On January 7, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Russia was monitoring the situation with the Mariner oil tanker, which was being pursued by the US and NATO militaries in the international waters of the North Atlantic. The Ministry stressed that the tanker sails under the state flag of the Russian Federation and in full compliance with the norms of international maritime law.

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