RIGA - The European Union (EU) should include oil tankers of Russia's "shadow fleet" in its next round of sanctions on Russia, Edmuds Cepuritis (Progressives), chairman of the Saeima European Affairs Committee, said while participating in the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) in Warsaw.
As LETA was told at the Saeima, the Latvian lawmaker underlined that the data cable connecting Latvia and Sweden is yet another cable in the Baltic Sea damaged by a ship. The EU must work together to prevent any new threats posed by Russia, the MP believes.
During a debate at the meeting, the chairman of the Saeima European Affairs Committee said that "we all are unanimous that we are not where we would like to be in terms of defense funding. However we might achieve this - with common EU loans or otherwise - investments in defense must be our political priority".
Cepuritis is in Warsaw where he attends a meeting of COSAC chairpersons. The meetings are held every six months by the country holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU. This semi-annual meeting focuses on the priorities of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU in relation to security in Europe.
As reported, in the early hours of Sunday, the Latvian State Radio and Television Center's (LVRTC) subsea fiber-optic cable in the Baltic Sea was damaged in the Ventspils-Gotland section.
The Latvian State Police has opened criminal proceedings in connection with the incident, State Police Chief Armands Ruks confirmed to LETA. The criminal proceedings have been initiated under two articles of the Criminal Law, namely for intentional destruction and damage to property, if it has caused serious consequences, and for intentional destruction and damage to a public electronic communications network, if it has caused serious consequences.
The police, in cooperation with the prosecutor's office, have activated legal cooperation mechanisms with foreign partners in the investigation.
Accordingly, the Swedish authorities on Sunday arrested a vessel suspected of sabotaging the fibre-optic cable in the Baltic Sea.
The Swedish Public Prosecutor's Office also announced that an investigation into "aggravated sabotage" had been opened after damage to an undersea cable connecting Sweden and Latvia. The Swedish Security Service is leading the initial investigation. Several authorities are involved in the investigation, including the Swedish police, the Coast Guard and the Swedish Armed Forces.
According to the Swedish newspaper Expressen, ship Vezhen has been arrested. According to the website Marine Traffic, which tracks vessel traffic, the bulk carrier Vezhen was faring under the Maltese flag and was on its way from Sweden to Denmark.
Marine Traffic data also show that the Vezhen sailed across the cable at around 1am on Sunday, according to Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics expects soon results of the investigation into the damage to the submarine cable of the Latvian State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC) and close cooperation with the allies. The president has been promptly informed about the damage in the Baltic Sea and has been in contact with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
It has also been reported that several incidents have occurred in the Baltic Sea in the past where critical submarine infrastructure has been damaged due to alleged Russian sabotage.
In early January, NATO announced that it would launch a new mission to protect submarine cables in the Baltic Sea.
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