Sweden PM visits Baltics amid possible Russia submarine sighting in Baltic

  • 2014-10-21
  • By Rayyan Sabet-Parry, RIGA

Swedish PM Stefan Lofven (left) walks with his Lithuanian counterpart Algirdas Butkevicius (photo: twitter)

Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven is in the Baltics today amid the possible sighting of a Russian submarine in Swedish waters last week.

The Swedish army say they received credible reports of foreign underwater activity''last Friday after a photo showed what could be a Russia submarine in the Baltic. Russia has denied the accusations.

The Baltics have been put on edge amid the sightings whilst Estonia says it has put its border guard on alert for any future possible sightings.

Following talks, Estonia's Prime Minister Taavi Roivas said Sweden and Estonia shared values concerning the Ukraine crisis.

“Estonia and Sweden having the same position in the matter of the Ukrainian crisis demonstrates that the two countries have great allied relations in the Baltic Sea region,” said Roivas.

Meanwhile, Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite said she had discussed regional security matters over lunch in Vilnius with Lofven.

Responding to the sightings, Latvia's foreign minister Edgars Rinkevics said thee sighting could be a potential 'game changer for regional security in the region.

"Closely following events in the Swedish territorial waters, may become a game changer of the security in the whole Baltic Sea region," Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics wrote on Twitter.