We will expand NATO's presence in the Baltic Sea, says Finland's President Alexander Stubb at a press conference after the summit.
The countries will continue to strengthen their defense and cooperation around the Baltic Sea, according to Stubb. Among other things, new technology for surveillance and tracking of suspected vessels will be developed in cooperation with the private sector.
According to NATO's Secretary-General Mark Rutte, the alliance will assist within the framework of a new operation called "Baltic Sentry". The operation includes, according to Rutte, several military vessels and reconnaissance planes that will patrol the Baltic Sea, as well as submarines and drones.
"Russia's use of the so-called shadow fleet poses a particular threat to maritime and environmental security in the Baltic Sea region and globally," reads a joint statement from the meeting, where all sabotage actions against the region's underwater infrastructure are "strongly condemned".
More Inspections
The "robust and determined" responses promised to future attacks include, among other things, prosecuting those responsible and seeking compensation for damages, as well as increasing surveillance and inspections of suspected vessels. There is also talk of further sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet.
Finland's President Alexander Stubb and Estonia's Prime Minister Kristen Michal hosted the meeting, where leaders from all Baltic Sea countries that are part of the defense alliance participated.
Several of the leaders have highlighted Finland's handling of the tanker vessel Eagle S as a shining example of how the alliance can act quickly and resolutely.
How Finland handled Eagle S should be a benchmark for how we handle similar cases in the future, says Michal at the press conference.
"Clear Message"
Eagle S is believed to belong to the Russian so-called shadow fleet and is the subject of a sabotage investigation regarding several damaged submarine cables between Finland and Estonia.
I think Finland has done a very good job. It was the first time we sent a clear message instead of just investigating, investigating, and investigating, said Latvia's President Edgars Rinkevics before the meeting.
According to Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (The Moderate Party), the suspected sabotage is "completely unacceptable". He mentioned that NATO countries around the Baltic Sea have detailed each other on what has happened and what can be done.
We agreed to make a joint legal analysis of what can be done, said Kristersson to journalists after the meeting.
