Bangladesh says its ban on US-sanctioned Russian ships won't harm relations between Dhaka, Moscow

DHAKA, Bangladesh

Bangladesh said Thursday that the government’s blocking of a US-sanctioned Russian ship from entering its port which then returned home after failing to unload equipment for the country’s sole nuclear power plant will not affect relations between Dhaka and Moscow.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the statement in its weekly briefing while responding to the summoning of Bangladesh’s ambassador to Russia over the barring of the ship as well as Bangladesh joining in US and European Union sanctions on Russian vessels.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Seheli Sabrin said at the media briefing that the Ministry of Shipping decided to bar 69 Russian ships that were sanctioned by the US from calling at Bangladeshi ports, not her ministry.

She said however that a single incident or issue would not affect the two countries' long-standing relations.

Terming Russia a proven and long-term friend of Bangladesh, Sabrin told reporters that “Russia’s role during Bangladesh's War of Liberation is unforgettable. Both countries are working jointly on many areas. Our understanding of bilateral issues is so good that we don’t think a single issue will adversely impact the existing friendly relations.”

She deemed the incident of barring the Russian ship an isolated one, noting that the ship was not only denied berth in Bangladesh but also in India.

Asked why Bangladesh sanctioned 69 Russian ships in line with the US sanctions list, Sabrin said that Bangladesh is a trade-dependent country. That is why many decisions have to be taken carefully, considering the interests of Bangladesh’s trade and business.

“The volume of our trade with the United States is very large, about 80% of the country’s total exports and trade,” she added.

Russia on Tuesday summoned Bangladesh’s ambassador Kamrul Ahsan after Bangladesh barred the US sanctioned Russian ship.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that Russia called the head of its diplomatic team to discuss various issues, including blocking the ship, and had not summoned him.

“It would not be correct to call it a summons because the incident of blocking the ship is a six-week-old subject,” Sabrin added.

According to Russian state news agency TASS, Ahsan was summoned to protest the decision not to allow the entry of Russian cargo-carrying ships under Western sanctions at Bangladesh ports.

"This step runs counter to the traditionally friendly character of bilateral relations and can have a negative effect on the prospects for our cooperation in various spheres," TASS cited the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying.

TASS said last week that Russia’s embassy in Bangladesh confirmed that 69 Russian ships had been barred from calling at the country’s ports.

But the embassy said “this step did not mean that Bangladesh had banned imports of Russian goods,” added TASS.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said later that Bangladesh had made this decision under the threat of US secondary sanctions, according to TASS.

The shipment of equipment to Bangladesh’s Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, however, resumed in alternative ways via India, according to Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, the contractor of the plant.

A scheduled cargo has already been delivered using an alternative route.

Earlier, the Russian vessel Ursa Major, which left Russia’s St. Petersburg port on Nov. 14 last year, had changed its name to Sparta-3 as it had come under US sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

The vessel was supposed to reach Bangladesh on Dec. 24. But on Dec. 20, the US Embassy in a diplomatic letter informed Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the name change.

In the letter, the US Embassy said that any kind of cooperation with sanctioned ships would invite the risk of falling under US sanctions or large financial penalties.