MOSCOW, Oct 13 (Reuters) – Russia’s embassy in France said on Tuesday that France’s seizure of a tanker – DF Peak – was a blatant violation of international law, the state RIA news agency reported.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on X on Monday that the French Navy had intercepted and boarded the tanker 450 nautical miles south of Réunion. He said the tanker was suspected of flying a false flag and of being involved in “illicit fuel transportation activities” as part of Russia’s shadow fleet.
RIA cited the Russian embassy as referring to the seizure as “piracy” and as saying it was trying to determine if any Russian citizens had been among the ship’s crew.
It was also quoted as saying that France had not notified Russia about the tanker’s seizure.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Anastasia TeterevlevaEditing by Andrew Osborn )
