Russia’s stance against acts of Western piracy to resonate with China — senator

KAZAN, August 19. /TASS/. Russia’s stance on countering acts of maritime piracy by Western countries will resonate with China as Beijing has an interest in freedom of navigation, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Committee on International Affairs, former Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov told TASS.

China is the world’s largest player in international trade, with the country’s foreign trade turnover exceeding $6 trillion annually, he noted.

"China is primarily interested in freedom of navigation and the absence of various kinds of incidents. Therefore, I believe our position will be met with a sensible understanding," Denisov said in an interview on the sidelines of the "SPROUTS: Russia and China - Mutually Beneficial Cooperation" forum.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that authorities in certain Western countries have long been attempting to restrict the movement of Russian commercial vessels in violation of international maritime law, and have recently gone so far as to contemplate seizing Russian ships and selling off the looted property. He termed this piracy and banditry and vowed that Moscow would respond in kind, not necessarily in the waters where such raids are planned, but wherever it deems appropriate.