‘Declaration of war’: Russian MPs blast US plans to enforce N. Korea sanctions on foreign territory
RT.com
5 May, 2017
A senior Russian senator says the American bill allowing the US Navy to enforce international sanctions on North Korea through the control of Russian ports is a violation of international law, and is equal to a declaration of war.
“The realization of this [US] bill includes a proposed force scenario in which the US Navy would conduct compulsory inspections of all ships. Such a scenario is simply unthinkable because it means a declaration of war,” RIA Novosti quoted upper house Committee for International Relations head Konstantin Kosachev as saying.
The comment came shortly after the US Congress approved the bill with additional sanctions against North Korea, allowing for the possible establishment of US control over seaports and sea routes in the Far East, including the Russian ports of Vanino, Nakhodka and Vladivostok.
The bill also expands the powers of the president of the United States to impose sanctions against individuals who violate certain UN Security Council resolutions.
The bill has to be passed by the US Senate and signed by the US president himself to come into force, and Kosachev expressed hope that this would never happen.
The senator emphasized that no one had given the United States official powers to enforce the UN Security Council resolution on North Korea, and said that Washington is trying to establish the primacy of US laws over international law.
Russian lower house lawmakers also described the fresh US motion as a threat to global security, warning that Russia would be forced to undertake reciprocal measures if the bill passed into law.
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