Russian President Vladimir Putin, making a surprise visit Friday to the disputed Crimea peninsula, condemned what he called “terrorist attacks” on the region by Ukraine but said the Kremlin did not intend to cut diplomatic ties with Kiev, Russian media reported.
Last week, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it thwarted “terrorist attacks” in Crimea allegedly mounted by Ukraine’s Defense Ministry’s main intelligence directorate, according to the Tass news agency. It said two Russian soldiers were killed in a purported cross-border raid.
“I think it’s obvious that Kiev’s current authorities are not seeking ways to solve problems through negotiations, but have turned to terrorism,” Putin said, calling the new development “alarming,” RT.com reported.
“We’re not going to cut our relations, despite the reluctance of the current authorities in Kiev to have full diplomatic ties at ambassador level,” he told members of the Security Council meeting in Sevastopol. “We nevertheless will create opportunities for the development of contacts and their support.”
It was Putin’s first public visit to the Crimea since it was forcibly annexed by Russia in 2014 in a move condemned by the U.S. and other Western countries. The visit comes one week after he discussed with the council additional security measures in the region, Tass reported.
The Russian leader said Ukraine has attempted “sabotage” in the area because of its “reluctance or inability” to implement agreements reached in Minsk last year to end armed conflicts in eastern Ukraine.
The FSB reported a group of “saboteurs” killed two Russian servicemen who were trying to detain them on Aug. 7 near the city of Armyansk, close to the Ukrainian border, according to Tass. The FSB said the “aborted terror attempts” were aimed at Crimea’s critical infrastructure. The FSB also reported arresting a Ukrainian “infiltrator” who purportedly claimed Kiev was planning to target a bus station and an airport in the port city of Simferopol, RT.com reported.
Although Russia has reportedly amassed thousands of troops on the border purportedly for military exercises, Russian military commanders have no plans to strike Ukrainian territory in response to the attacks, the Russian business daily Vedomosti reported this week, quoting a source close to the Defense Ministry.