WORLD NEWS JANUARY 20, 2019 / 3:45 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

Russian senator says U.S. warship in Black Sea should keep its distance

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Visits to the Black Sea by U.S. warships have nothing to do with U.S. security and are motivated by domestic politics, prominent Russian senator Alexei Pushkov said on Sunday, warning they should stay away from the Russian coast.

The U.S. guided-missile destroyer Donald Cook began moving towards the Black Sea on Saturday, "to conduct maritime security operations and enhance regional maritime stability, combined readiness and naval capability", a U.S. navy statement said. www.navy.mil/index.asp

The Russian Black Sea fleet began monitoring the warship once it entered the region, RIA news agency cited Russia’s National Defence Control Centre as saying on Saturday.

“U.S. warships are becoming frequent visitors to the Black Sea. These visits have nothing to do with U.S. security,” Pushkov, a member of Russia’s Upper House Commission on Information Policy, wrote on his Twitter page.

“They flaunt their flag, send us a signal, and appease their own senators, who are demanding they send a whole military fleet to the Black Sea. They should keep away from our coastline,” he wrote.

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