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Russia summons South Korean envoy over impounded vessel

Iran Press TV

Tue Oct 2, 2018 07:20AM

Russia has summoned South Korea's ambassador to Moscow, demanding that Seoul immediately release a Russian shipping vessel that it has been "illegally" holding in the port of Busan.

South Korea stopped the Russian-flagged vessel, the Sevastopol – which had purportedly been heading to North Korea – from leaving the Busan port after it docked there in mid-August for repair.

Authorities also confiscated the vessel's documents, saying it was one of the six Russian vessels targeted by United States sanctions back in August.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the cargo ship and its crew of 14 Russians, who have not left the vessel, are being held "illegally."

The ministry said in a statement that it told South Korean Ambassador Woo Yoon-keun on Monday that the "maritime authorities' ban on the vessel leaving the port" had to "be immediately canceled."

According to Russian news agencies, Woo said that he expected the issue to be "definitively" resolved.

"We expect that relations between Russia and South Korea will continue to develop successfully," he was quoted as saying.

The US Treasury Department blacklisted six Russian vessels for alleged "ship-to-ship transfer of refined petroleum products with North Korea-flagged vessels."

The Sevastopol's operator, Gudzon Shipping Co, is also sanctioned by Washington.

Russia denies the allegations of violating UN sanctions.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized Washington for pressing Pyongyang with harsh sanctions despite having opened direct talks with the North. He has called on his American counterpart, Donald Trump, to ease pressure on North Korea in response to Pyongyang's efforts toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Last month, The Wall Street Journal cited US military officials as saying that the Trump administration was convening a multinational coalition to better track ships allegedly supplying fuel to North Korea.

According to the officials, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and France will join Washington to form the coalition, which would also contribute warships and military surveillance aircraft to better monitor alleged shipments to the North.