Russia may have plans to change maritime borders in the Baltic Sea. This emerged from a bill that has now been deleted. Neighboring countries are alarmed.
A Russian bill to potentially redefine its maritime borders in the Baltic Sea has caused confusion and excitement among neighboring countries. The background to this is a draft from the Defense Ministry published in the Russian government’s legal database on Tuesday evening.
It deals with the “determination of geographical coordinates” to establish border lines in various parts of the Baltic Sea. The plan was justified by the fact that the old coordinates established during Soviet times were inaccurate and did not allow a continuous border line to be drawn.
Draft disappeared again
The Defense Ministry specifically referred to a maritime area south of the Russian islands in the Gulf of Finland and to sections near the cities of Baltiysk and Zelenogradsk in the Kaliningrad region. The approach allows “the corresponding sea area to be used as a Russian inland sea,” the document says.
Today, however, several Russian agencies reported, citing a source in military-diplomatic circles, that the proposed law is not about expanding Russian territory. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the project had no political background.
In the afternoon, the initiative finally disappeared from the legal database without giving any reasons. What significance this could have is unclear.
Lithuania and Finland alerted
The alarm bells were still ringing in the neighboring states. Russia’s actions could be viewed as a “conscious, targeted and escalating provocation” intended to intimidate neighboring countries and their societies, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said.
This is further evidence that Russia’s aggressive and revisionist policies pose a threat to the security of neighboring countries and all of Europe. Accordingly, the Russian envoy should be summoned to give a detailed explanation. Lithuania wants to coordinate a response with its partners.
The assessment in Finland was somewhat more cautious. The authorities there first want to check the information from Russian media. “Russia has not contacted Finland on this matter. Finland acts as always: calmly and based on facts,” wrote President Alexander Stubb on X.
Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen called on Russia to abide by United Nations conventions and international maritime law.
Sweden warns of Moscow’s plans
Sweden’s army chief Micael Biden warned of Moscow’s ambitions in the Baltic Sea – especially with a view to the Swedish island of Gotland. “I’m sure that Putin even has both eyes on Gotland,” Biden told the editorial network Germany. “Putin’s goal is to gain control of the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea is as important to Putin as it is important to us that it remains open and safe.”