Europe must be prepared for further Baltic Sea incidents, Finnish president warns

Europe must be prepared to face further incidents in the Baltic Sea following recent damage to undersea infrastructure, Finnish President Alexander Stubb warned.

He noted that the region must “get used to the new normal,” News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Baltic Sea nations are on high alert after a series of power cable, telecom link, and gas pipeline disruptions since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, prompting discussions on bolstering NATO’s presence in the area.

Speaking after a security meeting in Helsinki with NATO leaders from the region, he said: “I guess the conclusion that we can draw is that get used to the new normal. These kinds of things will happen in the future as well.”

Finnish police last month seized a tanker carrying Russian oil, suspected of damaging the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and four telecom cables by dragging its anchor across the seabed.

Commenting on the incident, Stubb said: “The good news here, of course, is that when it happened a year ago, the ship left the Baltic Sea. When it happened a month and a half ago, we were able to board, but not to confiscate.

“When it happened two weeks ago, we confiscated it. So we live and learn,” the Finnish president added.

News.Az