Russia rejects Ceuta migration claims, warns Japan on missile-capable drills
Russia denies involvement in Ceuta migrant crisis, citing lack of evidence, and warns Japan against US missile systems in upcoming drills.
Russia has formally denied any role in the migration crisis that affected Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, with the Foreign Ministry demanding evidence before engaging with Madrid's accusations.
Speaking at a briefing in Vladivostok, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Spain had not provided any material — "not necessarily definitive proof, but something substantiating" — to back its concerns. She noted that Russia has an embassy in Madrid and that existing United Nations mechanisms could have been used, but instead Spain made public statements without supporting facts.
In a separate development, Zakharova confirmed that a formal representation was made to the Japanese Embassy in Russia on August 31 regarding the upcoming Japan-US-Australia Orient Shield exercises, scheduled for September 8–24. The drills are set to include operations on Hokkaido, near Russia's Far Eastern borders.
Moscow described the planned deployment of US land-based Typhon systems — designed to launch medium- and shorter-range missiles — as a threat to Russian security. Zakharova warned that such weaponry, even under the guise of exercises, was "completely unacceptable," and that Russia would take "compensatory countermeasures" to ensure its national security.