Moscow, 21 May 2024 – Moscow wants to better define, and expand “by authority”, the maritime borders of the Russian Federationespecially regarding Kaliningrad, and does not seem willing to discuss it with the countries concerned. It was the Russian Ministry of Defense that proposed, unilaterally, variations as a consequence of “a change in the external limits of territorial waters”. We read it in a generic document, without detailed references, published on the government portal and taken up by Tass.
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The government note shows a “list” of variations of “geographical coordinates which define the breadth of the territorial waters”, of the coast and of the islands of the Baltic Sea. The document explains that if the proposed changes are accepted, a system will be “established basis of straight lines now absent on the southern portion of the Russian Islands in the eastern Gulf of Finland, near Baltiysk and Zelenogradsk (which are located in the Kaliningrad enclave, ed.) and will allow the use of these waters as internal.”
But the proposal is precisely one of the points that agitates Finland morein fact, with the border of its territorial waters further offshore than it is now, Moscow would consider itself authorized to intervene if foreign boats penetrated in this area without authorization. The ministry in the proposal emphasizes that “now the direct border lines of Russia in the Gulf of Finland have no continuation and do not close on the territory of the country, which, in turn, does not allow determining the external border of its internal marine waters “. If the law is approved it could come into force in 2025.
