MOSCOW, June 27 (RIA Novosti) - The government of Somalia hopes to defeat widespread piracy in its territorial waters after the UN Security Council deploys peacekeepers and lifts sanctions on arms deliveries, the Somali ambassador to Russia said Friday.

"We are waiting for a UN Security Council resolution on deployment of peacekeepers in Somalia to be adopted, after which sanctions on arms supplies to Somalia will be lifted to allow our government to protect its coasts on its own," Mohamed Handule said.

The waters off the east African nation are considered among the most dangerous in the world. According to the United Nations, 26 pirate attacks on civilian ships have occurred in the area since the start of this year.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991, and a transitional government established with UN assistance in 2004 has failed to gain control over the country.

Russia's Foreign Ministry confirmed Thursday the June 24 release of a Dutch-owned ship and its four Russian and five Filipino crew. The Amiya Scan, managed by the Reider Shipping company, was seized by pirates off the coast of northern Somalia on May 25 as it sailed to Romania from the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

On April 4, after a French yacht and its 30 crew were seized in Somali waters, the French government conducted a military operation that resulted in the capture of six pirates.

At the beginning of June, the UN Security Council passed a resolution permitting countries to enter Somalia's territorial waters to combat "acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea."