Moscow wants to revise the borders of its territorial waters in the Baltic Sea, according to Russian media. A statement seen as a provocation by the Baltic countries.
The leaders of the Baltic countries reacted cautiously to reports that Russia may revise the borders of its territorial waters in the Baltic Sea.
In a draft proposal reported by some Russian media, the Russian Defense Ministry suggests updating the coordinates used to measure the strip of territorial waters off its continental coast and that of its islands in the Baltic Sea.
The draft does not clearly indicate whether the proposed changes would have the effect of moving the border or simply clarifying it.
“Hybrid operation”
Lithuanian Foreign Ministry says Russia’s actions are considered a deliberate, targeted provocation and escalation aimed at intimidating neighboring countries and their societies.
According to the annex to the government resolution, Russia intends to revise the areas along the Curonian Spit, Cape Taran and the Baltic Isthmus on its border with Lithuania.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis called Russia’s planshybrid operation aimed at sowing uncertainty as for its intentions in the Baltic Sea.
He also called theNATO to take a tougher stance on hybrid attacks and said the best response would be to support Ukraine.
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur told reporters in Palanga that international law does not allow Russia to unilaterally change its borders, but he also stressed that Russia has never had problems violating the international agreements and took Ukraine as an example.
“These Russian provocations are nothing new”
Mr Pevkur also said people should be wary of information coming from Russia because “this is usually fake news or a deliberate psychological operation”: “normally it is either fake news or a deliberate psychological operation.”
Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds said that Russian provocations were nothing new for the Baltic states. “The reaction is important, but it should not be excessive,” he said.
At the same time, official Russian agencies quote a military and diplomatic source claiming that the Russian Federation did not intend to revise its territorial watersits economic zones and its national borders in the Baltic Sea.
According to experts, international treaties that define borders can only be changed by mutual consent of states, and not unilaterally.
Changing maritime boundaries requires considerable work and negotiations that normally take several years, even decades, as well as the intervention of various experts.
