Putin's Office: Dumbfounded by Law

Lex is linking to this article in the Guardian, where Lex finds a good quote of the Russian view regarding the humanitarian operations in the Black Sea.

"The decision to deliver aid using Nato battleships is something that hardly can be explained," said Peskov. "It's not a common practice."

Dmitri Peskov is the spokesman for Vladimir Putin, so it isn't hard to believe that Peskov would be unaware of the laws governing the Black Sea. I've been a bit confused myself, so I did what people usually do when facing legal confusion, I consulted an attorney. As Eagle1 points out, there are limitations regarding how the NATO can respond.

The Montreux Convention limits the total weight of a single warship that countries not bordering the Black Sea can deploy to 15,000 tons. Country’s bound by the agreement can deploy warships totaling a maximum of 45,000 tons.

Upon reflection, we've done a pretty poor job highlighting this. 15,000 tons isn't much, in fact that disqualifies the vast majority of the MSC ships in the US Navy inventory, and btw, ALL of the amphibious ships in the current inventory. The two largest ships in the US Navy that could be sent to Georgia carrying supplies would be a Ticonderoga class cruiser and an Arleigh Burke class destroyer. There are no cruisers currently deployed to that region (that we are aware of), so the use of a destroyer is practical as it is the largest ship in the US Navy inventory allowed by the Montreux Convention.

At face value, it is "something that hardly can be explained" only if you don't look into it. Lex concludes with a great comment.

Nothing could be a more common practice than rendering assistance to those in need. It’s the protesting humanitarian assistance that’s uncommon in the 21st century.

Guess it depends on ones perspective, this comment does source from Vladimir Putin's office.