Russian Foreign Ministry says European-Canadian maritime security initiative for the Baltic, North Atlantic and Arctic 'escalates the situation' after Poland joins

A senior Russian diplomat said on Saturday 24 October that Western countries were “escalating the situation” in the Baltic region through a declaration on maritime security in the Baltic Sea, the North Atlantic and the Arctic, RIA Novosti reported.

Vladislav Maslennikov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s department of European problems, was commenting on Poland’s decision to join the initiative. He said the idea of a collective naval capability, which the declaration is about, was needed “first of all to give weight to illegitimate actions” and to ensure mutual cover among its members (our translation).

“In practical terms, the activity of such formats comes down exclusively to escalating the situation and creating obstacles to free navigation, contrary to the basic principles of international law,” Maslennikov told RIA Novosti.

Eleven European countries and Canada announced at the NATO summit in Ankara in July that they would cooperate more closely on security in the North Atlantic, the Arctic and the Baltic Sea, the Norwegian Ministry of Defence said. Poland’s accession was announced on 13 October by Norwegian Defence Minister Tore O. Sandvik and Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz at the Warsaw Security Forum.

“European countries and Canada are stepping up and take greater responsibility for the security of Allied territory,” Sandvik said at the time. The 13 participants are Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, and their work is coordinated with the United States, according to the Norwegian ministry.