Russia counters US proposal for West Asia maritime coalition

Russia expresses unease and confusion over a proposal made by the United States for the establishment of a so-called maritime security coalition to patrol West Asia’s waterways.

“It is absolutely unclear to me what our American colleagues suggest,” Russian Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Mikhail Bogdanov was quoted by the ITAR-TASS news agency as saying on Tuesday.

The United States has not contacted Russia concerning the initiative, he noted, saying, “They usually contact us and explain what they want, putting forward some ideas.”

“We promote our own concept of collective security for the Persian Gulf area. We will publish it again today,” Bogdanov said.

The comments came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington was “building out a coalition that will patrol the Strait of Hormuz to keep those shipping lanes, those sea lanes open.” “There’ll be nations from all around the world that participate in that,” he added.

On Tuesday, Japan likewise communicated its opposition to the idea, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga saying Tokyo was not weighing sending military forces for the proposed coalition.

EA