NATO leaders meet to discuss sabotage in Baltic Sea
The leaders of NATO countries around the Baltic Sea are meeting in Helsinki for a summit on regional security. The meeting follows recent suspected acts of sabotage at sea.
The aim of Tuesday's summit is to better protect critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea and address the threat posed by the Russian shadow fleet. Russia tries to circumvent Western sanctions by using ships without clear registrations and flags to transport oil, for example.
In recent incidents, several submarine cables in the Baltic Sea were allegedly deliberately damaged. Fibre-optic cables between Helsinki and the German city of Rostock were damaged in two cases.
An electricity cable between Finland and Estonia has also been damaged recently. This is thought to have been done by the anchor of the oil tanker Eagle S, which was flying the flag of the Cook Islands. However, according to the EU, the vessel is part of the Russian shadow fleet.
Finnish president Alexander Stubb and Estonian prime minister Kristen Michal are hosting the summit. Leaders of other NATO countries in the region, including Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden, are also taking part.
NATO secretary general Mark Rutte will travel to Helsinki from Brussels, while the European Commission will be represented by vice-president Henna Virkkunen. Russia, the only Baltic Sea country outside NATO, has not been invited.
Estonian prime minister Kristen Michal, Finnish president Alexander Stubb, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen and NATO secretary general Mark Rutte ahead of the summit of the Baltic Sea NATO countries at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, 14 January 2025 © PHOTO ANTTI AIMO-KOIVISTO LEHTIKUVA / AFP
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