Estonia has said it is prepared to use force against foreign vessels in the Baltic Sea if they pose a threat to national security, Prime Minister Kristen Michal said amid tensions over recent incidents that the Baltic states blame on Russia.
Michal stressed that Estonia will defend its territory and strategically important objects by all available means.
"Any vessel that poses a threat to our interests may face a harsh response from the Estonian Armed Forces and Coast Guard," - declared the prime minister.
This position was also supported by the President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, who called the situation with the damage to underwater energy cables alarming.
"Incidents like these require stronger countermeasures from our countries. We cannot afford to ignore threats to our infrastructure.", - he noted.
The rupture of energy cables linking the Baltics to Scandinavia has caused tensions to rise in the region. Although the official results of the investigation have not yet been made public, the Baltic states suspect Russia of involvement in these events. Moscow, in turn, denies the accusations, stating that there is no evidence of its guilt.
Against this backdrop, Estonia and Latvia have begun to strengthen security measures in their territorial waters. According to defense officials, the countries are increasing patrols and using modern technology to monitor the waters. Measures to strengthen international cooperation are also being discussed, in particular with Finland and Sweden, which are also concerned about threats in the region.