Britain said on Monday that it would not accept unlawful interference with innocent passage at sea, and that its navy would uphold international law, in a written statement to parliament following a warship confrontation with Russia.
"The Royal Navy will always uphold international law and will not accept unlawful interference with innocent passage," defence minister Ben Wallace said in the statement.
Russia has accused Britain of spreading lies over the confrontation in the Black Sea and warned London that it would respond resolutely to any further provocative actions by the British navy off the coast of Russia-annexed Crimea.
Wallace's statement said the British warship HMS Defender was warned about a Russian live fire exercise, and that it noted the exercise being conducted out of range of its position. Wallace also said Russian aircraft flew around 500 feet (152.4 m) above the Defender.
"These aircraft posed no immediate threat to HMS Defender, but some of these manoeuvres were neither safe nor professional," he said.
"HMS Defender responded by VHF radio to the Russian units on several occasions and was, at all times, courteous and professional."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Rajnath Singh To Visit UK, First By Indian Defence Minister In 22 Years India, UK Discuss Regional Security Issues At Defence Consultative Group Meeting Grant Shapps Becomes New UK Defence Minister After Ben Wallace Resigns Parents Gave Names Of Interns, Doctors To CBI In Kolkata Horror: Sources How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan 3 Days After Big Order On Deposits With SBI And PNB, Karnataka Hits Pause "Far From Over" But Joe Biden Has High Hopes For Gaza Ceasefire Indian Student In UK Develops Revolutionary Carbon-Extracting Biomaterial Video: Woman Tries To Jump Off Mumbai's Atal Setu, Saved By Driver, Cops Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.