“BUZZING” OF SHIPS

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29272, 2 August 1960, Page 22

“BUZZING” OF SHIPS

Britain Rejects Soviet Complaint (NJZ. Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, July 31. Britain today told the Soviet Union it could not accept Soviet assertions that British aircraft, in “buzzing” Soviet ships, had endangered human life and violated international law, a Foreign Office spokesmain said tonight According to the spokesman, the British Ambassador in Moscow (Sir Patrick Reilly) called on the Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister (Mr Vladimir Semeonov) and gave him an oral reply to a Soviet complaint made on July 14 about “buzzing.” Sir Patrick Reilly, the spokesman said, told the Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister that all the incidents mentioned in the Russian complaint had been carefully investigated and the British Government could not accept the Soviet views on the flights. The investigations had shown that the aircraft had not flown at less than 500 ft, that they had not endangered Soviet lives or Soviet ships, and that they had not hindered navigation. Sir Patrick Reilly told Mr Semeonov that ships of all nations were often approached on routine flights by British service aircraft, but no other Government had found reason to complain, the spokesman stated. In the British view, the British aircraft were performing legitimate flights over the high seas, such as were recognised in article 2 of the 1958 Geneva Convention on the high seas.