© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. White Home nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan speaks at a press briefing on the White Home in Washington, U.S., December 12, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
(Reuters) – Russia’s International Ministry summoned senior U.S. diplomats on Friday to protest in opposition to remarks by White Home nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan, whom it accused of “successfully endorsing strikes” on Crimea.
The peninsula on the Black Sea was seized by Russia and unilaterally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, however is internationally recognised as Ukrainian territory.
“It’s time for Washington to be taught that any type of aggression in opposition to Russia will proceed to be met with the strongest doable response,” the ministry mentioned.
It didn’t specify which feedback it objected to, however when Sullivan was requested in a CNN interview on Sunday whether or not Ukraine ought to have weapons that may attain Russian targets in Crimea, he replied:
“Sure. We have now not positioned limitations on Ukraine with the ability to strike on its territory inside its internationally recognised borders.
“What we now have mentioned is that we are going to not allow Ukraine with U.S. programs, Western programs, to assault Russia. And we imagine Crimea is Ukraine.”
Russia has reported a sequence of drone strikes and assaults inside its internationally recognised territory in current weeks, together with a cross-border raid on Tuesday within the Belgorod area that it blamed on Ukrainian militants. Kyiv mentioned it had nothing to do with the incident.