Active response key to deterring suspected sabotage in Baltic Sea - Lithuanian president

VILNIUS - Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda believes that potential sabotage in the Baltic Sea can only be deterred through an active response.

"Those forces or politicians observing how we operate take advantage of this: they know that there will be no swift response and that it will get bogged down in disputes. I think the only way to deter such actions is through a strong response," he told a TV3 program on Monday.

The president said that deterrence could be achieved through intelligence efforts, legal prosecutions, and careful analysis of which companies' ships may be involved in possible violations.

"Knowing in advance that a particular company's ship is sailing from port A to port B in the Baltic Sea, technological tools could be deployed to track its actions, monitor whether it approaches critical infrastructure, and, if it does, possibly escort it," he said.

Nausėda said that he plans to discuss the protection of critical infrastructure and potential responses with Baltic and Nordic leaders in Finland next week.

He added that these discussions could be expanded further at the European Council's informal meeting scheduled for early February.