UST-LUGA /Leningrad Region/, May 26. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has endorsed proposals drawn up by the Russian Maritime Board in response to Western attempts to restrict shipping in the Baltic Sea, Presidential Aide and Maritime Board Chairman Nikolay Patrushev said.
Against the background of NATO's growing presence in the Baltic Sea, the West is essentially engaging in acts of piracy, the latest example being an attempt by the Estonian Navy, in coordination with the alliance's warplanes, to detain the Jaguar, a commercial vessel carrying Russian cargo in the Gulf of Finland, Patrushev recalled at a meeting on the development and security of navigation in the Baltic Sea.
"Response measures to the ongoing attempts to restrict navigation in the Baltic Sea were recently considered at a meeting of the Maritime Board Presidium. The proposals put forward were supported by the Russian president," he said.
Currently, the Baltic Fleet is strengthening its positions and reliably ensuring the safety of navigation while suppressing provocations by the naval forces of unfriendly states, Patrushev added.