So many different threads with Russia threatening another nation, it gets confusing. Still, thought this was best put here...
Sweden backs Lithuanian protest against Russia's conduct near NordBal
Sweden on Thursday stated support to the Lithuanian protest over the conduct of Russian military vessels in the Baltic Sea, which impeded the laying of a NordBalt power cable between Lithuania and Sweden.
Pezhman Fivrin, spokesman for the Swedish Foreign Ministry, told BNS that Stockholm saw the Russian behavior as violation of international law.
"Sweden has been in contact with Russian authorities and have discussed this issue and stated that this is violation of international law. We are supporting Lithuania in this matter. On Monday, the Foreign Ministry will discuss how to follow this issue up," the diplomat told BNS in a telephone interview from Stockholm.
The ministry said that conduct of the Russian Navy were aimed at hindering the laying of the NordBalt cable.
Litgrid, the Lithuanian power transmission system operator in charge of the project, said that the ship guarding the laying of NordBalt cable between Lithuania and Sweden on Thursday was forced out of the zone has not affected the project. However, the company confirmed that this was the third time this year that the ship guarding the cable in the Baltic Sea had to deviate from its route by direction of Russia’s warships.
Russian ambassador gives no answers on hindrances to NordBalt
Russia's ambassador summoned to the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry on Thursday for a protest on hindrances made by military vessels to the laying of NordBalt cable between Lithuania and Sweden did not give any answers.
"He will look into the Russian position. We will be notified of the official position," Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius told journalists on Thursday.
In his words, the orders made by Russian military vessels to ships monitoring the construction work to leave certain areas have been registered, and the information is shared with NATO. "All this is registered in daily reports of specific ships, this is registered in time – what has been received and from where, as well as the content. We are discussing the information with our partners. I would also like to add that one of the notes was made in coordination with Sweden, as the work was carried out by a Swedish-owned ship. Of course, we are sharing the information with our NATO Allies," said the minister.
Linkevičius expressed hope that international organizations would also urge Russia to comply to international commitments of safe navigation. "We will demand that it should abide (by international commitments), we will demand ourselves and I think the demand will be made by the organizations we are members of, because this is safe navigation. It is not a concern for Lithuania alone, as ships of other countries also sail in the economic zone," the minister told journalists.
In his words, the Russian hindrances will not affect the laying or the NordBalt cables, however, the hindrances are unacceptable: "Everything is going as scheduled, and the project will definitely not be affected, however, hindering work is unacceptable." Linkevičius said he could not specify whether the hindrances were specifically aimed against the power link with Sweden. "I cannot think anything, it's hard for me to guess – there is simply a fact that demands a reaction," said the minister.
The official protest was handed to Russian Ambassador Alexander Udaltsov by Lithuania's Foreign Vice-Minister Andrius Krivas.
The ministry said that a Russian Navy's ship had entered Lithuania's exclusive economic zone on Thursday in the framework of a military exercise of the Russian Baltic Fleet and unlawfully ordered an Alcedo ship of the Swedish company ABB to change its course. Similar incidents were reported on March 19, April 10 and April 24.
Russian ships delaying works on NordBalt electricity link between Lithuania and Sweden
Russian ships are consistently interfering with a strategic energy project of Lithuania that is laying down an electricity link under the Baltic Sea to connect its grid with Sweden's.
Sources have told DELFI that Russian ships have appeared for the fourth time this month on the site of the cable laying works in the Baltic Sea. The Lithuania side received a notice from the Russian ships on Thursday with instructions to move out of the cable laying zone until 6 PM. The Russians said the place was chosen as a site for military exercise.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius confirmed this. He said Lithuania had sent three protest letters to Moscow since March over similar actions. No response was received. "This is completely unacceptable and in violation of the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention," the minister said to DELFI. Linkevičius also told the BNS news agency that he will summon the Russian ambassador to Lithuania over the incident.
The NordBalt link project, worth EUR 550.3m, is managed by Litgrid, Lithuania's state-owned electricity company. The aim of the project is to connect the country's electricity grid to Scandinavia. The cable between Lithuania and Sweden is scheduled to be put into operation by the end of this year. The 450-kilometre underwater connection will have a capacity of 700MW.