Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas stated that multiple incidents of damage to critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea earlier this month were linked to each other, Politico reported.
Kallas met with her Finnish counterpart Petteri Orpo and her Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson in Brussels on Thursday ahead of a European Council summit to discuss an investigation into undersea infrastructure.
The ruptures of the Balticconnector gas pipeline linking Finland and Estonia, as well as of two undersea telecoms cables connecting Estonia to Finland and Sweden, occurred earlier this month.
Cooperation between the three countries in investigating cases and engaging with allies and partners has been effective and it is important that we continue to do so in the same way.
Finnish authorities confirmed this week that they suspected the Chinese ship Newnew Polar Bear of being involved in the Balticconnector pipeline rupture after an anchor had been found on the bottom of the Baltic Sea during a preliminary investigation.
Orpo stated on Thursday that Finland was co-operating with China to determine the exact role of the ship. He also plans to request EU funding to repair the Balticconnector, while NATO has intensified patrols in the Baltic Sea.
It remains important to emphasize that there is no risk [to] security of gas supply or interruption of cross-border internet connection in Estonia.
