Nato is planning an operation in the Baltic Sea to protect subsea cables, according to Swedish public broadcaster SVT.
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“I am also concerned about Russia’s shadow fleet. Efforts to address this on a broad front with the EU and Nato are now being sought,” Orpo said on Wednesday. File photo. Image: Jussi Nukari / Lehtikuva
8.1. 18:08•Updated 8.1. 18:52
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) called a meeting of parliamentary party leaders on Wednesday afternoon at the Smolna building in Helsinki to discuss Baltic Sea security issues.
In brief comments after the meeting, Orpo told reporters waiting outside the Smolna building that he wanted to keep party chairs and parliamentary group leaders up-to-date on security matters.
“These are common issues to us, and I wanted to give them a status update about the investigation of the broken cables in the Baltic Sea. The situation on the eastern border is unchanged, and we cannot open the border,” he said, referring to Finland’s land border crossings with Russia, which have been closed for more than a year.
“I am also concerned about Russia’s shadow fleet. Efforts to address this on a broad front with the EU and Nato are now being sought,” Orpo said.
Wednesday’s meeting in Helsinki also included discussion about the situation in Ukraine, as well as potential impacts on the conflict after the US presidency changes, as Donald Trump is set to return to the White House on 20 January.
Trump has claimed that he would end the war in Ukraine quickly, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Trump’s “strong and unpredictable” qualities could be a decisive factor in the matter.
“It is important that Ukraine is able to defend itself and that Russia does not gain the upper hand in the war,” Orpo said.
“The situation there is still serious.”
SVT: Nato planning Baltic Sea surveillance
Nato is planning an operation in the Baltic Sea to protect subsea cables, Swedish public broadcaster SVT reported on Wednesday afternoon.
It quoted Swedish Defence Minister Pål Jonson saying that Nato members are examining what type of resources could be used in the effort.
The broadcaster said that once Nato’s “Enhanced Vigilance Activity” effort would utilise aircraft and naval vessels from various Nato countries and expected to continue for several months.
SVT also reported that Sweden has already started preparing to take part in the operation.
Nato meeting in Helsinki
Meanwhile, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Estonian PM Kristen Michal will host a summit of Baltic Sea Nato countries in Helsinki next week, according to the president’s office.
The meeting’s topics include Baltic Sea security, particularly “measures required to secure the critical underwater infrastructure”, a president’s office press release said on Wednesday.
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File photo of (from left) Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte at a press conference at Nato Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on 8 October 2024. Image: Olivier Matthys / EPA
It added that discussion would focus on “strengthening Nato’s presence in the Baltic Sea and responding to the threat posed by Russia’s shadow fleet”.
Late last month, President Stubb said Finland would seek increased Nato presence in the Baltic Sea region, particularly around critical infrastructure. That was due to suspicions of subsea electric and telecommunications cables being deliberately damaged over Christmas.
The meeting will be held at the Presidential Palace in the Finnish capital on Tuesday, 14 January.
Scheduled attendees include Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Polish PM Donald Tusk, Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson and Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Henna Virkkunen.
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Publish date : 2025-01-08 08:52:00
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