Proposal of the Russian Ministry of Defense to review the maritime borders in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea today it was deleted from an official website after causing confusion and concern among NATO members Finland, Sweden, Lithuania and Estonia, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
The official Defense Ministry draft said that Soviet-era border measurements in 1985 used mid-20th-century nautical charts and did not correspond to more modern cartographic coordinates. However, the proposal was today deleted from the official website where it was published. In its place was a single message that read: "Draft deleted," without giving any further details. Reuters notes that the Russian ministry has not yet responded to a request for comment.
The deleted draft did not specify exactly how the border could be changed and whether there were consultations with other countries bordering the Baltic Sea. The document focuses on maritime borders near Russian islands in the Gulf of Finland and others off the coasts of the cities of Baltiysk and Zelenogradsk in Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, which borders Poland and Lithuania, DPA said. Meanwhile, Russian plans to review maritime borders in the Baltic Sea have raised concerns among their European neighbors.
"This is yet another proof that Russia's aggressive and revisionist policy poses a threat to the security of neighboring countries and Europe as a whole,'' the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
It calls the document a "deliberate, targeted and tension-raising provocation" aimed at intimidating neighboring countries. The ministry said it would summon the Russian ambassador to Lithuania and discuss the document with its partners. Finnish President Alexander Stubb wrote on the X social network: "Russia has not contacted Finland on this issue. Finland acts as always - calmly and based on the facts.
Swedish army chief Mikael Büden has warned of Moscow's territorial ambitions in the Baltic Sea, particularly regarding the large Swedish island of Gotland. "I'm sure that Putin has his sights set on Gotland," Büden told German media group CNN. "Putin's goal is to gain control over the Baltic Sea," he added.
"At first glance, this is an absurd idea," said Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna. "It cannot be ruled out that the document is an attempt to sow trouble," he added. Earlier today, Russian news agencies reported that military sources denied the project was an attempt to expand Russian territory. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that there are no political considerations behind the initiative.