The battle group of the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov will not call at Malta. This was confirmed by the country's Foreign Minister, George Vella, to the Times of Malta.
"No Russian unit will refuel the country's ports."
Vella, however, refused to confirm or deny a formal request by the Russians to supply the ships on the Mediterranean island.
The Kremlin would have ordered three tankers from Russian ports in the Black Sea to supply the flotilla for the duration of its stay in the eastern Mediterranean.
According to the rumors gathered by the Times of Malta, a real online petition of the Avaaz group would take place on the island, against the possible stop of the Russian war units. It would have been the thousands of accessions gathered on the internet that pushed the government to close the entrance to the Russian fleet.
A few hours ago the Russian embassy in Spain confirmed the withdrawal of a request made to the Spanish authorities for the entry of some units in the port of Ceuta. The flotilla is currently sailing towards the eastern Mediterranean, until it reaches the attacking position, in front of the Syrian coasts. The raids should begin within the first week of November.
Spain's no
The Madrid Foreign Ministry had previously received a request (and given prior authorization) for a brief stop by the Russian flotilla in the port of Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, to refuel food and fuel. The authorization had been formally requested for the logistics ships and the tanker supporting the battle group. Spain regularly supplies Russian warships in the free port of North Africa since 2010, the year in which it was opened to logistical support for ships of other nations. There would be about fifty Russian units including submarines, frigates, destroyers, amphibious assault ships and auxiliary ships that stopped at Ceuta from the 2010. The autonomous Spanish enclave at the tip of the northern coast of Africa, is located along the Strait of Gibraltar and borders on Morocco. Although Ceuta is part of the European Union, its status within NATO has never been clarified. The possible stop of the battle group of the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, eight units, triggered various reactions at European level.
It is the task of the nations along the route to the eastern Mediterranean whether or not to provide food and fuel to the Kuznetsov battle group - said Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General - but that battle group could be used to intensify air raids on the besieged city of Aleppo where 275.000 people are trapped. I believe all allies are aware that Russian units will be used to conduct air strikes on Syria.
According to Russia, the parking of naval units, authorized on a case-by-case basis by the Spanish Foreign Ministry, does not violate the EU sanctions regime and take place in compliance with international and national legislation. For Moscow, the Ceuta stop was to be considered as a formal commercial issue. It is not unusual for Russian navy ships to obtain supplies in other NATO countries, such as Greece and Italy.
(Photo: EPA / DOVER MARINA.COM/HANDOUT)
