The commander of the Donald Cook described the flights as a “simulated attack”.
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Nowhere in the reports in the United States was it mentioned that the Cook was itself engaging in provocative behavior.
Secretary of State John Kerry described Russia’s action as “reckless and provocative”.
He told the Miami Herald and CNN Espanol on Thursday that the US military “is not going to be intimidated on the high seas”, and he said that “under the rules of engagement”, it “could have been a shootdown”.
The events were reminiscent of the Cold War, when a series of close calls led to a bilateral agreement aimed at avoiding risky interactions at sea that was signed in 1972 by then-Secretary of the Navy John Warner and Soviet Admiral Sergei Gorshkov.
Kerry said on April 14 that he was communicating with officials in Moscow in the hope that such a close encounter will not be repeated.
He also claimed that the USS Donald Cook was in “operational proximity of the Russian navy’s Baltic fleet base”. A U.S. State Department official said Thursday it is not unusual for Russian Federation and other foreign aircraft to fly by U.S. ships to observe and says U.S. planes do it too.
“The unsafe and unprofessional actions of a single pilot have the potential to unnecessarily escalated tensions between countries”, said Hernandez, who added that the U.S.is protesting the incident with the Russian government. “Although, nothing extraordinary and unexpected, specifically for the Donald Cook crew (around which Russian aircraft have flown already not for the first time), has happened”, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. The planes carried no visible weaponry, the official said.
The incident is also a powerful reminder of Russia’s apparent military strategy for the broader region; keep the US and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation out in a crisis, and make peacetime USA and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation operations in the region as uncomfortable as possible.
Also a Russian KA-27 Helix helicopter made seven passes around the destroyer, taking pictures. Yesterday the Pentagon released video of the jets flying extremely close to the ship more than 30 times over the past two days.
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Putin is being as aggressive as ever, using his ramped-up military to threaten his neighbors, and provoke the U.S. Push every envelope, all with a clear message: We must be respected.
