“Russia’s attack drone hitting a Romanian apartment building shows that Russian aggression does not remain within Ukraine’s borders but directly threatens NATO allies,” Tsahkna said. “The Baltic Sea states have been strong advocates for supporting Ukraine and pressuring Russia, and at today’s meeting in Poland we discussed our next joint steps to push Russia to end the war.”
“Since the Baltic Sea is one of the most important lifelines of Russia’s war economy — as most Russian energy exports move through it via the shadow fleet — it is essential to continue deterring the activities of this fleet, adding its vessels to sanctions lists, and imposing a full ban on maritime services for ships transporting Russian oil and oil products,” Tsahkna said. “The faster and more decisively we restrict Russia’s energy exports, the faster the revenues needed to continue the war will shrink, bringing the end of the war closer.”
The need to deter the shadow fleet, impose additional sanctions, and establish a full maritime services ban was also highlighted in the joint statement adopted at the meeting.
The statement further emphasized the need to hold accountable those responsible for aggression against Ukraine and to continue comprehensive support for Ukraine. It also noted the need to strengthen measures against Russia’s aggressive activities, such as cyberattacks, acts of sabotage, influence operations, the creation of migration pressure, and GPS interference.
“The countries of the Baltic Sea region share the view that Russia is the most direct and long‑term threat to Euro‑Atlantic security, and we will continue joint efforts to strengthen regional defense capabilities, support Ukraine, and pressure Russia to end its aggression,” Tsahkna said. “As NATO allies, we must continue working to strengthen deterrence, defense posture, and air defense.”
The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) is a multilevel cooperation forum for the Baltic Sea region aimed at strengthening and deepening mutual cooperation. Its members are Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Poland, and the European Union. Poland holds the presidency this year; Estonia held it last year.
Joint statement adopted at the meeting of foreign ministers.
