The U.S. and Russian Navies met to establish and further refine safety protocols and specify parameters regarding international navigational zones, maritime interactions, according to a Navy report.
The annual consultations, called the Prevention of Incidents On and Over the Waters Outside the Limits of the Territorial Sea, took place in Moscow May 25. Established in 1972, the bilateral agreement “codifies” the mutual interest of both sides promoting safety of navigation and flight in international waters. Do these meetings ever actually mean anything? Could they reduce tensions? Maybe, but maybe not.
Air-to-air intercepts were a specific part of the discussions, however the talks, which are pretty much standard procedure, raise an interesting question as to whether they are just a formality with little or no impact or an actual gesture or demonstration of sincere cooperation.
The truth may involve shades of each, however any kind of dialogue regarding security is likely not entirely useless given the number of intercepts, close approaches and points of tension in recent years.
In recent week and months, in fact, Black Sea operations from both Russian and U.S. Navies seem to be upticking, perhaps in response to Russian build ups on the Ukrainian border.
