Russia must immediately stop detaining foreign vessels in the Azov water area. Her actions undermine the economy and sovereignty of Ukraine. This statement was made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom.. The situation in Azov was discussed the day before during the negotiations of the EU foreign ministers. After the meeting, the Foreign Office broke out in an angry statement addressed to Moscow, reports RIA Novosti. "The United Kingdom, after a meeting of EU foreign ministers, joined in appeals to Russia to stop detaining or hindering the access of ships to the Sea of ??Azov. Russia and its security services continue to hamper the work of international and Ukrainian vessels heading to Ukrainian ports in the Sea of ??Azov, "the document says. There were no specific cases of violations by Russian border guards of international maritime laws.. Supposing, apparently, that everyone knows about it and so. Britons care about the fate of the Ukrainian economy. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry notes that since spring of this year Russia has repeatedly conducted search operations on cargo ships heading for and leaving Ukrainian ports.. This led to a significant increase in the cost of transportation and a reduction in port profits.. "At the moment, more than 200 courts have been affected by actions that harm the economy of Ukraine and undermine its sovereignty," the ministry said. At the same time, the document says nothing about the actions of the Ukrainian side undermining Russia's economic interests.. After all, the aggravation of the situation in the Azov Sea began with the seizure by the Ukrainian border guards of the fishing vessel "Nord". The crew was arrested and was able to return home only six months later, and the captain is still in Ukraine. The vessel itself is put up for auction. In summer, the Russian tanker Mechanic Pogodin was detained in Kherson. He is still not allowed to leave the port. And one of these days, the Ukrainian border guards detained a dozen or so ships only for entering the Crimean ports..

Other participants in the diplomatic meeting also spoke out in defense of Ukraine.. "We conveyed a clear message to our interlocutors in Russia, that we expect from them that this (ship checks) will cease. And we are also studying the measures, in particular, the EC is doing this to support the affected areas in Ukraine with targeted measures, which will be announced as soon as they become official, "said European diplomacy head Federica Mogherini (she is quoted by the European Commission website).