Russia Proposes Baltic Sea Border Revision, Prompting Finnish Rebuke

Russia's defence ministry has proposed to adjust the borders of Russian territorial waters in the Baltic Sea. The draft decree suggests changes around islands in the Gulf of Finland and Kaliningrad. This move has prompted a response from Finland, urging Russia to follow international maritime laws.

Russia's defence ministry has proposed a revision to the borders of Russian territorial waters in the Baltic Sea, according to a draft government decree, drawing a rebuke from NATO-member Finland.

According to the draft decree, dated May 21, the ministry proposed adjusting the border around Russian islands in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland and around Kaliningrad. "The passage of the state border of the Russian Federation at sea will change," a summary of the draft decree said.

It was not immediately clear from the draft decree why the border needed to be adjusted, exactly how it would be adjusted and what - if any - consultation had taken place with other states around the Baltic Sea. Finland's foreign minister, Elina Valtonen, said that Russia should abide by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.