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Foreign Minister Tsahkna in Finland: Estonia takes over the presidency of the CBSS at a decisive time

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

14.06.2024

Today 14 June, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna was in Finland for a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), with the agenda focusing on regional security, the state of the shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea and Russia's hybrid actions in the region. The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland, and representatives of the foreign services of Denmark and the European Union attended the meeting.

The consensus was that a solution must be found to Russia's hybrid activity in Europe. "We agreed that a joint response must be given to Russia's hybrid activity in Europe. We will not allow the Russians to carry out arbitrary actions on our territories, constantly shifting red lines. In addition to NATO Allies and the European Union, we are also actively working in the CBSS to find a solution to the situation. The NATO accession of Finland and Sweden gave a new dimension to the CBSS in terms of ensuring security in our region," Tsahkna underlined.

"The state of the shadow fleet on the Baltic Sea is a serious threat to our environment, as well as the security of the region and all of Europe. A situation where Russian tankers that are visible from the coast of Estonia and Finland are evading sanctions and processing oil products with disregard for rules, demands quick action from us. It is important for the 14th package of sanctions, which is hopefully adopted in the coming days, to focus on this as well; however, we must also prevent the circumvention of sanctions," Tsahkna said.

"We have seen that Russia is not only acting on the surface of the Baltic Sea, but also underwater. Defending and monitoring submarine infrastructure has become increasingly relevant in light of Russia's hybrid activities. We have found innovative solutions for contributing to this field," Tsahkna said.

On 1 July this year, Estonia takes over the presidency of the CBSS, focusing on the region's security.