MOSCOW. Jan 12 (Interfax) - Attempts were made to exert pressure on Spain in order to ban the Russian Admiral Kuznetsov ship from calling in the ports of this country, this was done by abettors of terrorists, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov said.
"The attempt to put pressure on Spain was made in order to hamper our ships from calling at Spanish ports. Those who are doing this are ISIL abettors, those who support terrorism. The group, which was en route to Syria, headed there for the fight against terrorism," he said.
"Those who are exerting influence on Spain, bear all the responsibility for this. We said it straightforwardly in the European Union and sought explanations. This did not concern the Spanish story, Spain did not deny our ships a visit," Meshkov said.