Minister Tsahkna in Finland: Estonia taking on CBSS presidency at decisive time
The Baltic Sea region's free nations agree, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said Friday, that a solution must be found with regard to maritime and hybrid activity on the part of the only absolutist, non-democratic, totalitarian regime which has a Baltic coast, ie. the Russian Federation.
Tsahkna said: "We agreed that a joint response must be given to Russia's hybrid activity in Europe. We will not allow the Russians to carry out arbitrary actions on our territories, constantly shifting red lines."
The minister made his remarks while on an official visit to Finland yesterday, Friday, where he took part in meeting of the foreign ministers of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), which Estonia will be chairing from next month.
The agenda focused on regional security, the situation with Russia's shadow fleet on the Baltic Sea, and Russia's hybrid actions in the region.
"In addition to NATO allies and the EU, we are also actively working in the CBSS to find a solution to the situation. The accession to NATO of Finland and Sweden brought a new dimension to the CBSS in terms of ensuring security in our region," the minister underscored.
"The state of the shadow fleet on the Baltic Sea is a serious threat to our environment, as well as the security of the region and all of Europe," the minister went on, noting Russian tankers being are visible from the coasts of Estonia and Finland, brazenly evading sanctions and processing oil products with disregard for the rules, necessitates decisive action.
"It is important for the 14th round of sanctions, which will hopefully be adopted in the coming days, to focus on this as well; however, we must also prevent the circumvention of sanctions," Tsahkna added.
He also highlighted the importance of submarine defense and monitoring, and of combating hybrid tactics on the part of Russia.
The foreign ministers of Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden plus representatives of the foreign services of Denmark and the EU attended Friday's meeting.
Estonia takes over the presidency of the CBSS on July 1 and will focus on regional security.
The CBSS is an intergovernmental organization guided by its 10 member states plus the EU, and provides a forum for political dialogue and partnership to implement joint initiatives and projects which contribute to regional development and collaboration, the organization says on its website.
A shadow fleet or dark fleet uses concealing tactics to smuggle sanctioned goods.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
