Press
Moscow’s plan to expand the maritime border is causing anger within NATO. The Kremlin, on the other hand, wants to tighten measures in the Baltic Sea even further to ensure “security”.
Moscow – The Kremlin says it wants to tighten its measures in the Baltic Sea in order to ensure Russia’s security against a “confrontation in the Baltics.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this at a press conference on Wednesday (May 22).
In recent days, there have been signs of an escalation of the conflict in the Baltic Sea, as Russia plans to unilaterally extend its maritime borders into the waters of Finland and Lithuania. In the summary of the press conference, which Newsweek reported, Kremlin spokesman Peskov was also asked about the state borders in the Baltics.
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“The scale of the confrontation in the Baltic region requires Russia to take steps to ensure its security,” Peskov said, according to the state news agency Cup. “The situation in the world requires an intensive dialogue to find ways out of the tensions, but the collective West rejects it.”
The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry in Vilnius announced on Wednesday that it was summoning the Russian representative and demanding “a full explanation”. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis demanded a “suitably determined” response from the NATO and EUFinnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said her government was following the situation.
Russia no longer has an ambassador in Vilnius after Lithuania expelled the then ambassador in April 2022 for atrocities committed by the Russian army in Bucha, Ukraine, and downgraded diplomatic relations with Russia. With the summons, Lithuania responded to a draft resolution published on Tuesday by the Russian Defense Ministry to extend Russian maritime territories into the waters of NATO and EU members Lithuania and Finland.
Background: Russian draft resolution shows extension of borders to Lithuanian and Finnish territories
A unilateral redefinition of the geographical coordinates of the Russian maritime border would result in Lithuanian and Finnish territories in the Baltic Sea being added to Russia. Specifically, according to the document from the Russian Ministry of Defense, the maritime borders of the western Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and the eastern Gulf of Finland would be shifted.
“We have no official information about what Russia is planning,” said Valtonen. At the same time, the Finnish chief diplomat emphasized that the Russian Federation is also U.N.Convention on Maritime Borders. “We expect Russia to respect the convention,” said Valtonen.
The recent accession of Sweden and Finland to the NATO alliance, triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, inspired the term “NATO Sea” for the Baltic Sea, which is completely surrounded by Alliance members with the exception of Russia.
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The waters are a flashpoint for regional tensions, including GPS interference blamed on Russia, an immigration crisis Finland says was provoked by Moscow, and warnings from international leaders that Wladimir Putin could attack a NATO member.
The Swedish army chief Micael Biden also warns against Russia’s ambitions for power in the Baltic Sea. “I am sure that Putin even has both eyes on Gotland. Putin’s goal is to gain control of the Baltic Sea,” the army chief told the newspapers of the Editorial Network Germany“The Baltic Sea must not become Putin’s playground where he can instill fear and terror in NATO members,” Biden continued (bg/dpa).