U.S., Russia Trade Accusations Over Military Encounter in Mediterranean

Capt. Danny Hernandez, the spokesman for U.S. European Command, said the military had "deep concerns about the unsafe and unprofessional Russian ship maneuvers” that occurred in the eastern Mediterranean on June 17.

In recent weeks, U.S. and Russian governments have traded accusations of unsafe behavior and intercepts with air force planes and naval ships. In April, Russian jets flew very close to the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea, prompting complaints by U.S. officials.

On Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense released a statement saying the USS Gravely had operated in an unsafe manner. A video of the incident was widely played on RT, a Russian government-backed news organization and television channel.

Capt. Hernandez disputed the Russian account. He said the Russian ship Neustrashimy had displayed an international signal that it was restricted in its ability maneuver and warned the USS Gravely to maintain a safe distance.

The Gravely was operating alongside a U.S. aircraft carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman, whose aircraft have begun conducting strikes against Islamic State targets.

But Capt. Hernandez said that as the Gravely changed its course and speed, the Neustrashimy also changed its speed.

"The maneuvering demonstrates that Neustrashimy was not in fact restricted in her ability to maneuver, and was thus intentionally displaying a false international signal,” Capt. Hernandez said. "Gravely, operating together with Harry S. Truman, assessed that Neustrashimy was intentionally trying to interfere with Harry S. Truman operations.”

Russian officials said the Gravely approached the Russian ship dangerously close and violated international rules aimed at preventing collisions at sea.