With its latest steps, Russia is continuing its usual policy of trying to intimidate other states.
This is how German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Katrin Deschauer assessed the Russian nuclear exercises, as well as a message about the Kremlin's alleged intentions to review the borders in the Baltic Sea, the correspondent of Ukrinform reports.
"Such training corresponds to a model that has been known to us for a long time – attempts at intimidation. This is an element of Russia's continuation of the spiral of escalation. The Russian Federation is trying to achieve the effect of intimidation through these maneuvers near the borders. But it does not fall on fertile ground… We and our allies will not allow ourselves to be intimidated by such “communication,'' Deshauer said. the Russian model of behavior, the diplomat noted.
"Such behavior also fits into the mentioned scheme of communication – provocations, creation of insecurity, uncertainty, etc.,' she said.
According to the spokeswoman, Berlin has taken into account the relevant media reports, is monitoring the development, but the situation is currently "unclear".
It is about maritime law, in which the "baselines" – maximum width from the coast – 12 nautical miles. The change of borders cannot be carried out unilaterally, it must be coordinated with the neighbors, the spokeswoman emphasized.
As reported, Russia announced training on the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons “in order to increase the readiness of non-strategic nuclear forces to execution of combat missions”.
The media also reported that Russia intends to expand its territorial waters in the Baltic Sea along the state border with Lithuania and Finland. According to the document prepared by the Ministry of Defense, Russia intends to declare part of the water area in the east of the Gulf of Finland, as well as near Baltiysk and Zelenogradsk in the Kaliningrad region, as its internal sea waters. For this purpose, the geographical coordinates of the points that determine the position of the starting lines from which the width of the territorial sea of the Russian Federation, as well as the adjacent zone near the coast and islands are measured, will be changed. The authors of the project explain their decision by the fact that the current borders “do not fully correspond to the current geographical situation”.