Russia’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday accused a U.S. guided missile destroyer of coming "dangerously close" to a Russian warship and violating international rules aimed at preventing collisions at sea.
The incident occurred on June 17, when the USS Gravely came within "a dangerously close distance" of the Yaroslav Mudry, a Russian Navy frigate, in the Mediterranean Sea, the defense ministry said in a statement.
"On June 17, the U.S. guided missile destroyer Gravely came within a dangerously close distance of 60-70 meters from the Russian warship along the left side and crossed the sailing route of the frigate Yaroslav Mudry at a dangerous distance of 180 meters from the ship’s bow," Russia’s defense ministry said, according to a statement carried by the Russian News Agency TASS.
"The Russian warship was sailing in international waters, maintaining constant course and speed, and was not making any dangerous maneuver towards the U.S. ship," the ministry said.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment about the defense ministry’s statement. An unnamed U.S. defense official told Reuters that the Russian warship conducted "unsafe and unprofessional" operations near two American ships.
The accusation comes at a time of chilly relations between the United States and Russia. There have been multiple instances of Russian jets buzzing U.S. ships and aircraft in recent months. Russian fighter jets made passes of the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea in April, which American officials described as unsafe and unprofessional behavior.
"It should be noted that the U.S. Department of Defense has been persistently accusing Russian pilots and sailors of the lack of professionalism," Russia’s defense ministry said Tuesday. "However, this incident related to the dangerous maneuver of the guided missile destroyer Gravely shows that U.S. Navy sailors allow themselves forgetting about the fundamental principles of navigation security and giving no thought about the consequences this dangerous maneuvering may cause in the areas of intensive shipping."
Tensions between the United States and Russia have heightened over the latter’s military actions in Ukraine and Syria. Russia has also grown increasing hostile towards NATO’s military buildup in the Baltics.