The incident raised concerns as the carrier prepared to participate in NATO exercises in the region.
The French military said the drone was spotted seven nautical miles (13 km) from Charles de Gaullea ship that has never visited Sweden before. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the incident was serious, but not unexpected. “It is very difficult to see it as a coincidence. It is a Russian modus operandi that we recognize from other places,” he added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed Sweden’s accusations as “absurd”. However, NATO allies have been reporting sightings of drones near military sites and airports in recent months, including in Denmark and the Baltic states.
Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonsson previously said he believed in a “strong connection” between the drone and the Russian warship in the Oresund Strait. After disrupting the drone, the Russian ship sailed towards the Baltic Sea, according to Swedish media.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian praised Sweden’s handling of the incident, saying that if the drone really came from Russia, it would be a “ridiculous provocation”.
Former French military commander Dominique Trinquand said Russian drones in the area were not a surprise, adding that the drone’s presence near Malmo was a strategic signal, given the deployment of the French aircraft carrier.
Aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle he comes to Sweden with his own escort and Rafale fighter planes, and as part of the mission La Fayette 26 will participate in several long-planned NATO exercises in the Baltic and the Atlantic Ocean. The mission is seen as part of France’s response to Moscow after a period of Russian hybrid operations.
Meanwhile, the Swedish Coast Guard is investigating a fuel spill in the port of Malmo, where two oil tankers are moored and Charles de Gaulle. It has been preliminarily confirmed that the incident is not related to the aircraft carrier, the BBC reports.
(Vijesti.ba)
