A draft Russian plan to tweak the borders of the country’s territorial waters in the Baltic Sea is an escalation against NATO and the European Union, Lithuania’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
“Another hybrid Russian operation is underway, this time attempting to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt about their intentions in the Baltic Sea,” Foreign Minister Gabriellus Landsbergis said on social media platform X.
“This is an obvious escalation against NATO and the EU, and must be met with an appropriately firm response,” he said.
The draft plan is on the Russian government website and the goal seems clear: to appropriate inland sea waters in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland near the cities of Baltiysk and Zelenograd in Kaliningrad.
Through the decree, Russia intends to change the geographic coordinates, that measure the width of the Russian territorial sea and the area near the coast and the islands. This will affect six islands near the Finnish border and also some areas near the border with Lithuania.
Russia says the tweaking is necessary as the last survey, done in 1985, do not fully correspond to the current geographic situation.
The top commander of Sweden’s armed forces warned that President Putin may be seeking dominance over the Baltic Sea, and alleged that he had his eye on the Swedish island of Gotland.
“Who controls Gotland controls the Baltic Sea,” warned Micael Byden, indicating that if Russia seizes control of the island, it could threaten NATO countries from the sea.
“This would signify the end of peace and stability in the Nordic and Baltic regions. The Baltic Sea should not turn into Putin’s playground where he intimidates NATO members,” he said.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Sweden has beefed up its military presence in Gotland. It officially joined NATO in March, two years after Russia’s invasion.
With inputs from Reuters
