Russian government has formally requested the U.S. Department of State on New Year's Eve to stop pursuing an oil tanker being chased by the U.S. Coast Guard. The oil tanker, "Bella 1," was originally planned to go to Venezuela to load crude oil. The U.S. claims that when it was intercepted in the Caribbean Sea, the ship did not display a valid flag, and is legally considered a "stateless vessel," which can be inspected and seized. Subsequently, the ship refused to cooperate and headed towards the Atlantic, during which time it painted the Russian flag on its hull, claimed to be protected by Russia, and had been registered in the official Russian ship register under the new name "Marinera" with the home port marked as Sochi. U.S. officials said that given the ship initially displayed a "false flag," it is still considered a stateless vessel. The report pointed out that Russia's move may add more complexity to the current complicated diplomatic situation. At the time of the request, Trump was trying to push for a ceasefire in Ukraine-Russia and had recently met with Zelenskyy in Florida. At the same time, the United States is exerting pressure on President Maduro's government by effectively intercepting and seizing oil shipments from Venezuela. Analysts believe that although the legal effectiveness of Russia's "temporary change of registry" is questionable, its diplomatic intervention may make the U.S. ship seizure action more complicated in both legal and diplomatic aspects, and further escalate the friction between the U.S. and Russia on the Venezuela issue.
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Original article: toutiao.com/article/1853203389176841/
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