In a phone conversation with Acting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted the destabilizing provocative activity of US and NATO forces in the Black Sea

Iran PressEurope: "The destabilizing and dangerous nature of the provocative activities of the armed forces of the United States and a number of other NATO countries in the Black Sea was also noted," the Kremlin said in a statement.

Earlier this month, the US Sixth Fleet announced that its flagship Mount Whitney departed to the Black Sea to conduct drills with NATO allies and partners. On Monday, Mount Whitney along with US destroyer Porter entered the Georgian port of Batumi.

Moscow, for its part, sees NATO activities in the Black Sea as a provocation to spur tensions and pursue the policy of containment of Russia.

Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyanskiy, on Thursday also described the behavior of US warships in the Black Sea as provocative.

The Black Sea is the main arena of confrontation between Russia and the West.

In recent years, NATO has had a large presence near Russia and its border areas under the pretext of Moscow's anti-Western threats. 219