MOSCOW, December 19 (RAPSI) – Russian President Vladimir Putin does not rule out the Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise crew may have been carrying out a planned act of sabotage against Russian Arctic exploration, he said during an annual Q&A session with the press Thursday.

“Why do things like this happen? To pressure the company into paying a boon, or to disrupt the Russian Federation from exploring the Arctic. We consider this to be a serious matter, and not going to show any leniency,” Putin told reporters.

The Arctic Sunrise ship was seized by Russian border guards on September 19 in international waters, within Russia's exclusive economic zone, a day after two Greenpeace activists scaled the Prirazlomnaya drilling rig in the Pechora Sea, the southeastern part of the Barents Sea.

The platform, owned by Gazprom Neft Shelf, a subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom, is the first ice-resistant stationary oil platform in the world set to produce offshore Arctic oil.

Greenpeace and other environmental groups oppose drilling for oil in the Arctic because they say that it is currently impossible to sufficiently clean up potential oil spills in the region, and that such drilling cannot be economically viable.

Putin added that he supports everyone trying to protect the environment, but considers it unacceptable when the cause is used for personal publicity or profit.