MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Turkey on Monday summoned Russia's ambassador to Ankara over images of a Russian serviceman holding a man-portable surface-to-air missile launcher as the Caesar Kunikov large landing ship from the Russian navy's Black Sea Fleet was passing through the Bosphorus near Istanbul.
"I want to stress that the Russian vessel has not violated none of the provisions of the 1936 Montreux Convention, which regulates shipping in the straits, or relevant Turkish instructions. The protection of the vessel is the legitimate right of any crew," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
Zakharova added that Turkish officials had failed to specify the nature of the alleged violation, making abstract references to the "context and philosophy" of international laws, instead.
