“The Russian government has officially sent a diplomatic request to the United States to stop the pursuit of an oil tanker headed for Venezuela.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Vessel Bella1. Illustrative photo from marinetraffic.com Source: “European Truth” with reference to the newspaper The New York Times
Details: According to the interlocutors of the publication, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Russian request was delivered to the US State Department late on Wednesday evening. It was also sent to the White House Homeland Security Council.
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It is noted that the story with the tanker took place at a time when US President Donald Trump is trying to achieve a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Russia’s demand that the US stop pursuing the ship could add new complications to the negotiations and increase tensions between the two countries over Venezuela.
The publication recalls that the US had been monitoring the tanker, known as Bella 1, for almost 2 weeks. The ship, which began its journey in Iran, was on its way to Venezuela for oil when US forces tried to stop and board it in the Caribbean Sea.
According to US officials, the ship did not have the proper national flag, which made it subject to detention under international law.
However, the crew of Bella 1 refused to comply and headed back to the Atlantic Ocean. Since then, the ship has been trying to get protection from Russia. In particular, the crew painted the Russian flag on board and informed the coast guard by radio that they were sailing under the flag of the Russian Federation.
Recently, Bella 1 appeared in the official ship register of Russia under the new name Marinera with the home port in Sochi.
The White House declined official comment.
Meanwhile, a US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Trump administration continues to consider the tanker “stateless” because it was flying a false flag when it was first approached by the Coast Guard.
Prehistory:
- The day before, the US introduced sanctions against Chinese companies and tankers connected to Venezuela.
- On December 30, the United States imposed sanctions against ten entities and individuals based in Iran and Venezuela in connection with the supply of drones.