MOSCOW, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Russia could deploy its navy to prevent European powers from seizing its vessels and may retaliate against European shipping if Russian ships are taken, Nikolai Patrushev, one of Russia's leading hardliners, was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
Western states have sought to cripple Russia's economy with sanctions and in recent months have tried to block oil tankers suspected of involvement in Russian oil shipments. In January, the United States seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker as part of efforts to curb Venezuelan oil exports.
Patrushev, a Kremlin aide who is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said Russia needed to give a tough response - particularly towards Britain, France and Baltic states.
"If we don't give them a tough rebuff, then soon the British, French and even the Balts (Baltic nations) will become arrogant to such an extent that they will try to block our country's access to the seas at least in the Atlantic basin," Patrushev, who serves as chairman of Russia's Maritime Board, told the Russian media outlet Argumenty i Fakty.
"In the main maritime areas, including regions far from Russia, substantial forces must be permanently deployed - forces capable of cooling the ardour of Western pirates," he said.
Patrushev said that the navies of major powers were undergoing radical technological change and modernisation amid what he said was clear "gunboat diplomacy" from Washington over Venezuela and Iran. Russia's updated naval shipbuilding programme to 2050 will be submitted for approval soon, he said.
He also said that Russia believed the NATO military alliance planned to blockade the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea.
"Any attempt at a naval blockade of our country is completely illegal from the standpoint of international law, and the concept of a 'shadow fleet', which EU representatives brandish at every turn, is a legal fiction," he said.
The shadow fleet refers to a network of vessels that Western nations say are operated by Russia to evade sanctions.
"By implementing their naval blockade plans, the Europeans are deliberately pursuing a scenario of military escalation, testing the limits of our patience and provoking active retaliatory measures," Patrushev said. "If a peaceful resolution to this situation fails, the blockade will be broken and eliminated by the navy."
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Ros Russell)
