Russia cancels Syria-bound warships fuel stop

MADRID: Russia has cancelled plans to refuel warships heading for the Syrian coast at a Spanish port, Spain´s foreign ministry said on Wednesday, after Madrid came under pressure to refuse them permission.

The Russian flotilla -- led by the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov -- had been expected to take on fuel and supplies from Friday at the port of Ceuta, a Spanish territory on the north coast of Africa.

There had been concern that the three ships could take part in air strikes in Syria, where Russia has been staging a bombing campaign for the past year in support of President Bashar al-Assad and has deployed a naval contingent to back up its operation. Moscow´s decision comes against a backdrop of increasing tensions between Russia and the West over the war in Syria, as well as the conflict in Ukraine.

"The Russian embassy in Madrid has just told us that it is withdrawing its demand for permission to stop over for the boats, which means that the stop-overs have been cancelled," the Spanish foreign ministry said in a statement.

Russian ships have for years made stops in Spanish ports, with permission granted on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the safety of local residents and the environment, the ministry had previously said.

But this time, Spain decided to review Russia´s request to allow its ships to stop on Spanish territory while it weighed the situation, it added.

Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg had expressed concern that the flotilla could take part in Syria air strikes.

"It´s a decision which has been taken by individual allies, whether they provide fuelling and supplies to Russian ships," he told reporters in Brussels.

"But this time I have conveyed a very clear message that we are concerned about the potential of this carrier group to increase attacks in Aleppo," he added.