Prime Minister Kallas discussed the protection of critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea with the Finnish and Swedish prime ministers

According to Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Estonia is treating the damage to the Baltic Sea submarine infrastructure with the utmost seriousness. “We have reason to believe that the cases of Balticconnector and the telecommunications cables are linked. We will continue to work closely with Finland and Sweden as well as other allies and partners to establish the facts. It is important that we thoroughly check all the versions on the table and not jump to conclusions. At this stage, no version regarding the Estonian communication cables can be confirmed or refuted,” Kallas said.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Kallas highlighted the good work of Estonian, Finnish, and Swedish researchers and experts. “The cooperation between the three countries in investigating these cases and communicating with allies and partners has been efficient and it is important that we continue in the same way,” she said.

Kallas stressed that, in addition to specific investigations, there was also a broader discussion on ensuring the security of the Baltic Sea. “We will be discussing the protection of critical infrastructure at the forthcoming European Council. We have also already taken additional measures to ensure the security of the Baltic Sea, in cooperation with our allies in NATO. NATO has sent its ships and planes to the Baltic Sea. This clearly shows the vigilance of the allies and their readiness to act,” said Kallas.

The prime minister noted that the Estonian government has also given specific guidelines to the ministries and a number of additional measures are being planned and have already been implemented together with institutions to increase the level of security monitoring and protection of critical infrastructure both at sea and on land. “At the same time, it is still important to emphasise that there is no risk of the security of supply of gas or the disruption of the cross-border Internet connection in Estonia,” Kallas added.