Russia accused Britain and the United States on Friday of trying to incite conflict in the Black Sea and said it would defend its borders using all possible means, including military force.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media that Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was speaking a day after Moscow warned Britain it would bomb British naval vessels in the Black Sea if what it called provocative actions by the British navy were repeated off the coast of Russia-annexed Crimea.

Russian news agency RIA quoted Ryabkov as saying Washington and London were sowing strife in the region by failing to accept Crimea as a part of Russia.

Russia considers the peninsula part of its territory. It annexed Crimea in 2014, but it is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine.