Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
Moscow, January 8 (Xinhua) — Russia calls on the United States to immediately cease illegal actions against the oil tanker Mariner, as well as other vessels conducting legitimate activities on the high seas. The Russian Foreign Ministry announced this on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the U.S. European Command announced that U.S. authorities had seized the tanker Mariner in the North Atlantic for violating U.S. sanctions.
"We call on Washington to return to compliance with the fundamental norms and principles of international maritime navigation and immediately cease its illegal actions against the Mariner, as well as other vessels carrying out legitimate activities on the high seas," reads a statement published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website.
As noted, the vessel Marinera, which received temporary permission to sail under the state flag of the Russian Federation on December 24, 2025, in accordance with international law and Russian legislation, was conducting innocent passage in international waters of the North Atlantic, heading towards a Russian port.
The Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that it considers the threats made by American authorities to prosecute the ship's crew under absurd pretexts categorically unacceptable. "By conducting an unsafe pursuit and then an armed seizure of the oil tanker in difficult weather conditions, the American military clearly failed to consider the risk of causing significant damage to the environmental safety of the North Atlantic," the statement reads.
"We consider the American side's references to its national 'sanctions legislation' to be unfounded. Unilateral restrictive measures by the United States, as well as those of other Western countries, are illegitimate and cannot serve as justification for attempts to establish jurisdiction, much less the seizure of vessels on the high seas. The suggestions by individual US officials that the seizure of the Mariner is part of a broader strategy to establish Washington's unlimited control over Venezuela's natural resources are extremely cynical. We resolutely reject such neocolonialist tendencies," the Russian Foreign Ministry stated.
"Along with the US administration's disdain for the generally accepted 'rules of the game' in international maritime navigation, Washington's willingness to generate acute international crises, including in Russian-American relations, which are already extremely strained by the disagreements of recent years, is regrettable and alarming. The Marinera incident can only lead to a further escalation of military and political tensions in the Euro-Atlantic region, as well as a visible lowering of the 'threshold for the use of force' against peaceful shipping. Inspired by the dangerous and irresponsible example set by Washington, some other countries and entities may also feel entitled to act in similar ways," the statement emphasized.
The Russian Foreign Ministry demanded that the American side ensure humane and dignified treatment of Russian citizens on board the tanker, strictly respect their rights and interests, and not hinder their speedy return to their homeland.
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