The heads of state of the NATO members bordering the Black Sea met in Helsinki yesterday with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. The Finnish broadcaster Yle reports that the meeting, co-hosted by Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, was organized following the Finnish detention of the Eagle S cargo vessel, which is accused of damaging undersea cables between Finland and Estonia by dragging its anchor over them. Following the summit, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that NATO will launch a Baltic Sea monitoring mission to secure critical infrastructure, which will include the use of patrol ships, planes and drones.
Among the points to come out of the summit were the following:
The eight leaders condemned the increase in the number of suspected attacks on critical undersea infrastructure.
