Russian President Vladimir Putin backed his country's capture of a Greenpeace International ship after demonstrations at an oil platform in the Arctic, but hesitated on the charges of piracy that Russian officials insisted they'd execute.
"I don't know the details of what happened there," Putin said during an international meeting on the Arctic, "but obviously they are not pirates. However, formally, they tried to seize our platform."
The crew on the ship, named the Arctic Sunrise, was questioned by investigators for a second day in the northern port of Murmansk, where the vessel was moved after being seized by border troops last Thursday. According to the New York Times, Putin said that the border troops - an extension of the Federal Security Service - moved to take the Arctic Sunrise one day following the first protest because they weren't sure of the ship's origin or intention in their waters. Russian officials were worried that the ship held pirates that might threaten the area, despite there being recognizable Greenpeace painting on the body of the ship.
"Our border guards did not know who was trying to seize our platform under the disguise of Greenpeace," Putin announced, then made reference to the terrorist attack at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi. "Especially, in the context of the bloody events that took place in Kenya, anything might have happened."
The crew on board was comprised of citizens from 18 countries, including one American, Peter Willcox, who was the ship's captain. Greenpeace told the New York Times that Arctic's team was being questioned without lawyers present, but a handful of diplomats met with the Greenpeace members.
Despite Putin's support for the border troops' actions, he questioned whether the crew members should be charged with a crime as serious as piracy, citing possible diplomatic tensions.
Greenpeace International's executive director Kumi Naidoo said that the ship was distinctly marked, and that the demonstrators were protesting peacefully.
"We welcome President Putin's recognition that our activists are clearly not pirates and acted purely out of concern for the Arctic environment," Naidoo released in a statement. "Our climbers attempted to attach themselves to the side of the platform to raise attention to the threat of Arctic oil drilling in this fragile environment and the urgent need to deal with climate change. This was a peaceful protest against Gazprom's ambitions to be the first company to pump oil from icy Arctic seas."
Putin responded by criticizing Greenpeace for demonstrating in Russian waters instead of going to international conferences to publicize their worries over oil drilling. According to the New York Times, a representative from Greenpeace Russia, Vladimir Chuprov, did go to the conference on its first day.
"We are not shying away from it," Putin said concerning the issue of drilling in the Arctic. "We are gathered at such events to discuss all these problems."
