Russia accuses Baltic States, threatens retaliation over severed ties

Russia has accused Baltic countries of engaging in behavior leading to the severing of relations with Moscow, threatening to retaliate with asymmetric measures.

The Kremlin has attributed the breakdown of what it perceives as the "hostility" of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, told the RIA state news agency that because of Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn's openly antagonistic stance, all forms of interstate, interdepartmental, regional and sectoral ties with Russia had been cut off.

She further alleged that these "unfriendly states" complicate bilateral relations.

Russia will respond to hostile action

Zakharova refrained from specifying the actions taken by the three countries but cautioned that Moscow would not let them go unanswered.

She asserted Russia would retaliate against the Baltic states. 

"We will also respond to the hostile actions of the Baltic states with asymmetrical measures, primarily in the economic and transit spheres," Zakharova said. 

Highlighting the economic repercussions of redirecting Russian goods to northwestern ports, Zakharova underscored that such actions have severely impacted the Baltic nations’ economies. Despite the severance, she emphasized Russia aims to keep channels of dialogue open and avoid complete diplomatic isolation.

She stressed that stopping diplomatic missions' activities would amount to “leaving our citizens and hundreds of thousands of compatriots at the mercy of arbitrary action by the police." Zakharova emphasized Moscow will continue putting diplomatic pressure on the Baltics.

'Estonia's effort to end Ukraine war will continue'

Responding to the allegations, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna pointed to Russia's invasion of Ukraine as the catalyst for the deteriorating relations. He reiterated Estonia's commitment to diplomatic efforts to end the conflict and support Ukraine against aggression.

"Estonia will continue to make diplomatic efforts to see the war ended and for Ukraine to have the opportunities and means it needs to kick out the aggressor," Tsahkna added. 

Last week, Baltic ministers accused Russia of violating air traffic rules when two Finnair flights had to divert back to Helsinki after GPS interference prevented them from landing at an airport in the southern part of Estonia. They said the suspected Russian jamming of GPS flight systems has become “too dangerous to ignore.”

Tsahkna labeled a recent GPS interference incident during Finnair flights as a "hybrid attack" by Russia, echoing concerns raised by Baltic ministers regarding Russian espionage activities and GPS jamming.

Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were also among the countries that recently expressed concern over what they called Russian espionage, NATO said last week.

Furthermore, Moscow has reportedly placed Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Lithuanian Culture Minister Simonas Kairys, and members of the previous Latvian parliament on a wanted list for their roles in removing Soviet-era monuments from their respective countries.

Source: Newsroom