MOSCOW. Nov 27 (Interfax) - The Russian State Duma intends to initiate discussions of the incident in the Kerch Strait at various international forums, Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said.
"It would be the right thing to do for us to discuss this issue at all international forums. We, for our part, will initiate the raising of this issue for further analysis and discussion," Volodin told journalists on Tuesday.
He said he expected European countries to understand that "a neighbor like Ukraine can only cause concern to other countries today, as anything can be expected of it."
Ukraine's decision to declare martial law means putting military garrisons on alert and indicates that President Petro Poroshenko could resort to extreme measures to retain his personal power, Volodin said.
The ten regions where Ukraine has declared martial law were chosen for a reason: Poroshenko has the strongest opposition there, and his electoral rankings there are the lowest, Volodin said. "This is aimed at mopping up the territory of those who oppose him so he can run in the election and try to retain power," he said.
"Our European partners should know this, and I hope they will formulate an opinion, even though they have been entrapped to quite an extent by their earlier decisions. But I don't think anyone wants to live on a powder keg, and the Ukrainian leadership is holding a lit fuse and trying to make the situation critical. You need to look at this with open eyes and make judgments consistent with the situation, it can't be swept under the rug," he said.
Europe should think about the results of its support for the Ukrainian leaders, who came to power through a coup, Volodin said.
Ukraine's provocative actions add tension to the situation, which "is disadvantageous not only to Ukraine itself, but to the entire European home," he said.
The declaration of martial law in Ukraine may have unpredictable consequences, and the pretext was "opportunistic and condemnable - the deliberate violation of another state's borders, the violation of international norms and rules," Volodin said.
He thanked the Russian border guard for what he said were its consolidated, resolute, and courageous actions and for preventing the Ukrainian ships from entering Russian waters. Those who violate Russia's borders must be brought to justice in line with Russian law and international rules, he said.
Ukraine's decision to declare martial law was preceded by events in the Kerch Strait. Russian border guards used weapons to stop three Ukrainian naval vessels in the Kerch Strait area on November 25. The vessels in question - the Yany Kapu tug and the Berdyansk and the Nikopol armored gunboats - were on their way from Odesa in the Black Sea to Mariupol in the Sea of Azov. Twenty-four Ukrainian sailors were detained, including three who were wounded. Both parties accused each other of an act of provocation. NATO urged Russia and Ukraine to exercise restraint.