Many Baltic countries 'threaten' to block Russian ships from passing through the area, calling on NATO to increase patrols

On October 20, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics warned that Russian ships could be blocked from passing through the Baltic Sea if an investigation found Moscow was involved in causing damage to the gas infrastructure of countries in the region.

Nhiều nước Baltic ‘doạ’ chặn tàu Nga đi qua khu vực, kêu gọi NATO gia tăng tuần tra

NATO and its allies are stepping up patrols in the Baltic Sea following recent damage to undersea infrastructure in the region. (Source: Postimees)

Speaking to the media, the Latvian leader said: "If it is determined that Russia or another country is responsible, which is very unlikely to be another country, then I think the issue of us closing the Baltic Sea to all Russian ships will be discussed."

According to President Rinkevics, such discussions have not yet been held because conclusions need to be “waiting for the results of a specific and clear investigation”. However, he said that “a sufficient and balanced step” would be to increase NATO patrols in the Baltic.

NATO and its member states are now increasing patrols in the Baltic Sea following recent damage to undersea infrastructure in the region.

The increased measures include additional surveillance and reconnaissance flights, including maritime patrol aircraft, NATO AWACS aircraft and drones. A team of four NATO mine hunters is also being deployed to the area.

On October 17, Sweden announced that it had received information about damage to the telecommunications cable between Estonia and Sweden, coinciding with the incident at the Balticconnector gas pipeline.

The Balticconnector gas pipeline, 80 km long, was completed in December 2019. The pipeline runs under the sea in the Gulf of Finland, connecting Inkoo in Finland and Paldiski in Estonia. The pipeline is currently suspended due to an incident on October 8, which Finland said was caused by “external influence”.

The Finnish Foreign Ministry has informed Russia “about the seriousness of the matter” and announced the start of an investigation, focusing on several ships, including the Russian ship Sevmorput, which is believed to be “near the scene” of the incident.

State-owned Rosatom, which owns the container ship, “refuted any assumption of involvement” in the damage to the pipeline. Helsinki has also contacted Beijing over suspicions that the Hong Kong-flagged Newnew Polar Bear was also involved.

Source