Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk proposed establishing joint Baltic Sea naval patrols among regional nations to counter Russia. He made this suggestion on Wednesday before a meeting with Baltic and Nordic leaders in Sweden.
Tusk highlighted existing NATO air patrols over Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. He advocated for a similar naval initiative, stating he would push for “navy policing” of Baltic waters.
He emphasized that these patrols should be a collaborative effort among Baltic Sea nations sharing similar security concerns regarding Russia.
Tusk argued that a united Europe would render Russia insignificant economically and technologically, but division makes each European nation vulnerable.
Nine countries border the Baltic Sea: Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, and Poland.
Tusk’s proposal followed the reported severing of two underwater Baltic Sea cables – one linking Finland and Germany, the other Sweden and Lithuania. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius labeled the incident sabotage, with Western media implicating a Chinese-registered vessel captained by a Russian.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed this, asserting that blaming Russia without evidence is absurd. He countered that Ukraine, citing its alleged role in the Nord Stream pipeline incident, is more likely to engage in such acts.
Nikolay Patrushev, an aide to President Putin, previously warned of Western efforts to restrict Russia’s Baltic access, alleging that Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership aims to make the Baltic Sea a NATO “internal sea.”