U.S. insists on return of Ukrainian ships captured by Russia – U.S. Dept of State
The U.S. position on the incident in the Kerch Strait is unambiguous: Russia must return the arrested ships to Ukraine, Deputy State Department Spokesperson Robert Palladino has said.
"And for the United States, our position has been very clear, from the President to Ambassador Haley to Secretary Pompeo. We – they [Russia] must return to Ukraine its vessels and detained crewmembers," Palladino said a briefing.
He recalled that the European partners of the U.S. from NATO, the OSCE and the EU also made statements on the incident in the Kerch Strait.
"There is a coalescing of opposition and strong condemnation for the aggression that we have witnessed," he stressed.
"The aggression that we've witnessed this week is unacceptable and a strong message has been sent," he said.
To the journalist's clarifying question how strong the signal was sent, Palladino responded: "Isolation."
