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00:00Welcome to the press conference.
00:07At first, President Stupp, Prime Minister Mihael, and Secretary-General Ryttäen will
00:13give statements, and then we will have time for questions.
00:17President Stupp, please.
00:19Thank you very much, and warmly welcome.
00:21I'll try telegraphically to summarize our meeting into ten points.
00:28The first point is that the meeting was a success, as you can see from the joint declaration,
00:35which is a robust statement about what the Baltic Sea nations think about things such
00:43as shadow fleets or impediments to critical infrastructure.
00:49The second point is that we will continue to act robustly when critical infrastructure
00:58in the Baltic Sea is in danger.
01:01And you have, of course, seen the advancement of the way in which we do things, because
01:04a year ago a ship got away, in November a ship was boarded, and, of course, after the
01:14the ship was actually confiscated.
01:20So we now have the capacity and the tools to act.
01:23My third point, which will be addressed more directly by the Secretary-General, is that
01:29we will increase NATO's presence in the Baltic Sea.
01:33My fourth point is that we will continue to improve the use of modern technology in sussing
01:40out activity in the Baltic Sea and on infrastructure.
01:47My fifth point is that we will continue to deal with the shadow fleet of Russia robustly.
01:56My sixth point is a concrete one.
01:58We will work on a memorandum of understanding, similar one that we did between Finland and
02:05Estonia, on the critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.
02:10My sixth point is that we will set up a group of legal experts of the foreign ministries
02:17of Baltic Sea states, which will have a look at the freedom of navigation in international
02:27waters on what kind of things we can actually do within the framework of sticking to the
02:36freedom of navigation.
02:39My eighth point is that we will provide a step-by-step report to our allies about the
02:47Finnish model that we used as of the 25th of December with the shadow fleet ship in
02:56question.
02:57My ninth point is that we will continue very close cooperation between NATO and the European
03:05Union.
03:06And my final and tenth point is that this was a meeting of Baltic Sea allied states,
03:16but we will very closely brief our NATO colleagues about the meeting and the conclusions that
03:26we drew from it.
03:32Senator Mark, dear journalists, as Senator already summed up, this was a good meeting,
03:41not only in words, but a very strong and robust joint declaration, which will be available
03:48to everybody.
03:51For us, I would say, from Estonia's side, working together with NATO allies and our
03:57Finnish colleagues, I would say that this kind of example that Finland is setting with
04:02dealing with the shadow fleets and possible harm doers, or however we like to call them,
04:10probably should be a benchmark for the future operations.
04:13So this probably is among the topics, the main topics, coming from this kind of meetings.
04:20And I would say that everybody around the table and those allies that will be in contact
04:27later probably could agree that in the future, in Baltic Sea, Danish Straits, everywhere,
04:37if the message is sent that you will be dealt with if you harm infrastructure, that probably
04:42is the strongest possible response.
04:46To coming to today's meeting, I would say that the first thing to welcome is the launch
04:52of NATO's operation, and Mark will be much more concrete about it in details.
05:01I will say from Estonia's side and as a member of NATO that this prompt response from NATO's
05:08Secretary General at SACEUR is very welcomed, and I'm very grateful to all the allies for
05:17the contributions right now, for the keeping up information coming during the holidays
05:24and also contributions in the future.
05:27Second topic is already mentioned that for us, the first thing talking about critical
05:34infrastructure is the ability to deter and send the message that you should not deal
05:40or hamper critical infrastructure, but the second one is ability to repair them.
05:47And as Alexander already pointed out, that we have this kind of basis of memorandum of
05:54understanding between Estonia and Finland, that should be also like a starting point
06:00for Baltic Sea NATO members that how to deal with different infrastructure breaking, because
06:09things will happen.
06:10If they have happened once, they usually happen twice, after that the third time, and probably
06:15will be fourth and fifth.
06:16It's most probable.
06:20But if you are able to repair all the cables, let's say energy cables or different communications
06:27cables, that probably will give resilience and also the security to societies around
06:33the Baltic Sea.
06:34So a very concrete basis for repairing and the ability to share this repairing burdens
06:41and different possibilities is the memorandum of understanding.
06:46And also the point that was already made that the deterrence of shadow fleet, that probably
06:57also is on everybody's mind, we have already checked since June, Estonia has checked more
07:05than 300 tankers, 260 of them have presented their insurance documents, 62 have not.
07:13We have boarded seven and it will continue.
07:17The same has done by Finns, it probably will be done by other countries, but to be honest,
07:23they are running money from Russia to have this kind of hybrid war against Europe, and
07:29also they are taking environmental possibility bomb in our seas.
07:34So we should deal with every possibility that the law allows us, and if needed, already
07:42pointed out, we need also better rules to act with them more automatically.
07:47So thank you.
07:49Well, dear Alex, dear Kirsten, thank you so much for co-hosting this Baltic Sea Allies
07:58Summit.
07:59Today, allies from the region gathered to address the growing threat to our critical
08:06undersea infrastructure, and I can indeed say we had excellent discussions.
08:12Across the alliance, we have seen elements of a campaign to destabilize our societies
08:19through cyber attacks, assassination attempts, and sabotage, including possible sabotage
08:26of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, with damage to energy and telecoms cables that
08:33are vital for our nation's security and prosperity.
08:38In the last two months alone, we have seen damage to a cable connecting Lithuania and
08:42Sweden, another connecting Germany and Finland, and most recently, a number of cables linking
08:49Estonia and Finland.
08:52Investigations of all of these cases are still ongoing, but there is reason for grave concern.
08:59Safeguarding our infrastructure is of utmost importance.
09:05Not only is this crucial for energy supply, better from power cables or pipelines, but
09:11more than 95 percent of Internet traffic is secured via undersea cables, and 1.3 million
09:18kilometers of cables guarantee an estimated $10 trillion worth of financial transactions
09:25every day.
09:27Recognizing the risks, allies and NATO have responded.
09:33Over the past two years, allies have stepped up military patrols near critical infrastructures.
09:39In May of last year, we established a new Maritime Center for the Security of Critical
09:44Undersea Infrastructure within NATO's Maritime Command in the United Kingdom.
09:50We have also intensified coordination efforts between NATO allies, the private sector, and
09:56other partners.
09:58And we are working more broadly with the European Union.
10:01But we must do more.
10:04Today, I can announce that NATO is launching Baltic Sentry.
10:10Under the authority of NATO's Supreme Allied Commander General Krzysztof Woli, this military
10:15activity is part of our ongoing effort to enhance maritime presence and monitoring of
10:21key areas for our alliance.
10:24It will involve a range of assets, including frigates and maritime patrol aircraft, among
10:30others, and will enhance our vigilance in the Baltic.
10:33Second, we have agreed today to launch an initiative to deploy new technologies to this
10:39effort, including a small fleet of naval drones to provide enhanced surveillance and deterrence.
10:46We are also working with allies to integrate their national surveillance assets with NATO,
10:52ensuring comprehensive threat detection.
10:56Third, robust enforcement is essential.
11:00Finland has demonstrated that firm action within the law is possible.
11:05Ship captains must understand that potential threats to our infrastructure will have consequences,
11:12including possible boarding, impounding, and arrest.
11:16And while such law enforcement roles are for national authorities, we are best served when
11:21there is complementarity between NATO's efforts to detect threats and deter aggression and
11:28national efforts to enforce the law.
11:32Lastly, enhancing resilience requires safer, more repairable, and more redundant infrastructure.
11:39So that means we will work within our critical undersea infrastructure network, which includes
11:45industry operators, to better protect and secure vital undersea assets.
11:51And we need to explore how best to ensure that the right incentives are in place for
11:56more resilient systems.
11:59So again, Alex and Kristin, thank you again for hosting us today.
12:03I'm confident that by working together with all allies, we will do what it takes to ensure
12:09the safety and security, not only of our critical infrastructure, but of all that we hold dear.
12:19Now it's time for questions, and the first question goes to Lauri Vahuur, ERR.
12:30Thank you very much.
12:31This is Vahur Vahuur from Estonian Television News.
12:34So we have heard a new word, Baltic Sea Allied States, the BS, AS, congratulations.
12:42My question actually goes to the Secretary General.
12:48We have the Baltic air policing mission, which is to grow into a Baltic air defense mission,
12:56meaning that small states that don't have fighters can have help from other allies who
13:04have them.
13:05Do we see something similar happening on the Baltic Sea?
13:10Something like a BS, AS Navy that is kind of a navy of smaller states and bigger states
13:21that are kind of like a water patrolling, water defense mission?
13:27Thank you very much.
13:28Well, thank you very much for that question.
13:30Of course, what we have to do within NATO and with our allies is always looking at the
13:34best way how to organize ourselves.
13:37And sometimes that is through the forward land forces.
13:40Sometimes it is through jointly working on policing our airspace.
13:46But in this case, it is all about protecting the critical undersea infrastructure.
13:51And the point I'm trying to make today is that where in the past we would discuss cyber
13:57attacks and let's say sabotage and energy blackmail as being a sort of separate set
14:07of actions, what we want to show today is that as NATO with our allies, we will make
14:14sure that our deterrence is in the right place, that we are able to exactly assess what is
14:21happening, that then the allies, individual allies, are able to take the necessary actions.
14:28And that's where we would talk in the past about hybrid threats.
14:32And it sounds a bit cuddly, hybrid, but hybrid means sabotage.
14:37Hybrid means cyber attacks.
14:39Hybrid means sometimes even assassination attempts.
14:42And in this case, it means hitting on our critical undersea infrastructure that the
14:48alliance will not accept that.
14:51And that we will do everything in our power to make sure that we fight back, that we are
14:56able to see what is happening, and then take the next steps to make sure that it doesn't
15:00happen again.
15:01And our adversaries should know this.
15:04So to your question, very good that we have all these separate ways of organizing ourselves,
15:10and we will be able to do it also in the future, but this is an initiative particularly focused
15:14on making sure we can protect our critical undersea infrastructure.
15:20And Elina Kervinen, Helsingin Sanomat.
15:25Thank you so much.
15:26My question is for all of you.
15:29Both you, Mr. Secretary General, and Swedish Prime Minister have said recently that we
15:34are not at war but not at peace either.
15:39What is your assessment at this time of the security situation in light of these three
15:44cut cables or broken cables recently in the Baltic Sea, and is there an increased threat
15:50of a military conflict in the area?
15:52Thank you so much.
15:56Let me begin by referring to an excellent book that I read a few years back.
16:01It's by Mark Leonard, and the book is called The Age of Unpeace.
16:06And in many ways, I think that describes the world that we live in today.
16:11So the things that were supposed to bring us together, such as trade, interdependence,
16:18technology, or energy, or currency, they are now used to tear us apart.
16:24But there should be a clear distinction.
16:26On one hand, you have traditional kinetic warfare.
16:29That is what we see in the battlefields in Ukraine.
16:33And then on the other side, you have, no matter how you define it, hybrid warfare of sorts.
16:39And we are seeing those types of activities on the increase in so many different ways,
16:45especially coming from Russia.
16:48And this is exactly what we try to address in this meeting.
16:52In other words, hybrid elements linked to both critical infrastructure and potential
16:58environmental damage.
16:59Yeah, I very much agree.
17:01And let me add to this, that at this moment, when it comes to kinetic warfare, we are safe.
17:09The Alliance is able to fight back to anyone who is trying to attack us.
17:15My biggest worry is that in four or five years, we are not, if we will not invest more
17:21in our collective defense, if we will not do more to ramp up our industry production.
17:28And that is why I made that comment.
17:30Yes, at this moment, we are facing these acts of sabotage and assassination attempts and
17:35energy blackmail.
17:36So all these destabilizing actions, the so-called hybrid warfare, but at the same time, when
17:42it comes to four or five years, when we look at this moment, what the Russians are producing
17:47in three months, we are producing in a year.
17:50And we is from Los Angeles up to and including Ankara, so the whole of the Alliance.
17:56And when we look at what we are spending and the purchasing power the Russians have with
18:00the amount of money they are spending, we are really getting into difficulty if we do
18:05not ramp up the money we spent on defense and ramp up the defense industrial base.
18:12And this is really crucial.
18:13And I have not even talked about China, which is also, of course, investing heavily in its
18:17military and will have 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030.
18:21So we really have to do this.
18:22This is urgent.
18:23It is urgent now.
18:24This cannot wait until some summit somewhere.
18:27We really have to get this done in the next couple of months.
18:30And of course, the Hague Summit will then play a big role here.
18:34I would say the assessment is probably the same, as already mentioned, that right now
18:40Russia is pretty much dealing with the biggest armed conflict since Second World War in Europe,
18:48in Ukraine, this aggression.
18:51But Estonia has also been under constant cyber attacks on the cyber domain since 2007.
19:01And I would say that we are trying to attribute those attacks to countries doing them and
19:07mostly done by Russia, by state players, criminal players, and so on.
19:12And the number has not gone down.
19:15So the same on the sea and the critical infrastructure.
19:20On the sea, on mainland, on everywhere, because right now the situation is coming also to
19:27that that Baltics are desynchronizing our energy grid from Russia, synchronizing to
19:34Central European grid, which is much more reliable, bigger, and also for the future
19:40energy exports much more viable.
19:44And Russia is not a reliable partner.
19:46And looking at the time, I would say that even if we don't know certainly that what
19:53are the motives behind breaking critical infrastructure, it has influences on everyday lives, on economy,
20:01on the feeling of security.
20:03So as already mentioned, that even if things happen like testing to NATO members, EU members,
20:12or they have no clear intent on each of events, I would say all in all, Mark already mentioned
20:19that we should be prepared, we should ramp up our defense capabilities in coming years,
20:26because I very much like the Finnish phrase that you should not be afraid, you should
20:33be prepared.
20:34So for Estonia, for every NATO country, that preparedness is probably the key.
20:39We're dealing and having rule-based world, not arbitrary world where the borders can
20:44be changed by force.
20:46As we say, talk less, prepare more.
20:50Marietta Thirdline.
20:58Hi.
20:59Terri Schultz with Deutsche Welle.
21:00To all three of you, this morning even in the doorsteps we heard – oh, sorry, it's
21:05my voice, though.
21:07This morning we heard different approaches among the leaders, the national leaders, about
21:13how assertive they're willing to be.
21:14From what you're saying now, there's been agreement that the Finnish approach is the
21:19way to go, that this is the way to deter the Shadow Fleet vessels from taking other
21:24malign actions.
21:26Do you have that agreement that within NATO, all the Baltic Sea countries, for example,
21:30Germany, are going to be willing to follow this model, that you will train law enforcement
21:35officials to scale the boats if necessary, to do what Finland did with the Eagle S?
21:42And is this possible under the current law of the sea, interpretation of the current
21:47law of the sea, without changes in the law, which of course would take a long time?
21:50Thank you very much.
21:51Well, obviously it's up to each ally to act at the end of the day when something is
21:57happening.
21:58But what we are very clear about is that the Shadow Fleet is a big issue, not only because
22:03of sanction circumvention and because of what happened with the cable cutting and the big
22:10environmental risks we are running through the Shadow Fleet, but we also all agree that
22:15we want to maintain UNCLOS, that means the law of the sea.
22:19But within UNCLOS, a lot is possible.
22:21And anyone listening to this press conference thinking that UNCLOS would prevent any of
22:26the allies within NATO to act when that is necessary, would be wrong.
22:30There are many options and possibilities to do that.
22:33I'm not going into all the details, because that is legally, of course, extremely – we
22:38have to go to all the details of the legality, but I can assure you that we are all very
22:43much committed to make sure that our critical energy infrastructure is protected.
22:50Of course, what we want to do is to do the max, to cut off the Russians from this money.
22:55So at the end of the day, it's really all about cooperation.
22:58Just like Mark said, the actual activity or action when a situation happens is national.
23:08The overall coordination is NATO.
23:11And the way in which I see it and the way in which we have done it with our authorities,
23:16which may I add include our military, our border, our customs, and our police, is first
23:26the private sector company reports what has happened.
23:32So if a data cable is cut, they report to the authorities immediately.
23:37After that, the authorities detect, basically suss out which are the possible ships who
23:44were in that position when the cable was cut.
23:48Once that happens, you identify the ship and you contact the ship.
23:54And number four, you stop the ship, because what happened in this particular case, had
24:00it continued for another 12 minutes, the carnage would have been much worse than the four basic
24:06cables that were there.
24:08So we were able to stop it.
24:10After that, you ask the ship to move into your territorial waters and then you can board
24:16the ship.
24:17Now, what we do with the working group that we set up with the legal experts from our
24:23foreign ministries is to understand what are the specific measures that can be taken.
24:29So for instance, in Finland we have a law that despite the freedom of navigation, if
24:37we are on the verge of a possible natural catastrophe, environmental catastrophe, say
24:43an oil spill, then we have the authority to board the ship.
24:49And I must say that just the fact that we were successful in this third instance has
24:55also led to the fact that the responses that we have gotten in other instances have been
25:00an understanding that the Finns will act in these types of situations.
25:05Yeah, I would add that for us it's a question that how everybody will respond already, as
25:14Alexander mentioned, that it's pretty much up to each member state, but also collectively
25:23setting some kind of benchmark and set of rules.
25:27And we as partners, allies, probably are looking up to Finns.
25:33And I would say that next times if we have like a threat or sabotage attempt towards
25:41critical infrastructure, probably the Finnish attitude should be a benchmark.
25:47And that is what we are talking around the table, that this should be the way we are
25:53dealing with very automatically.
25:55And also we are setting up different systems to have this kind of information better running
26:00between the countries, because Estonia and Finland have close cooperation, as different
26:06countries do.
26:08But the possibility that we will have questions about infrastructure, which is critical in
26:13the future, or environmental questions that will probably be big questions in our seas,
26:20it's very probable.
26:22So I would say we should emphasize that Finnish action right now is a benchmark we should
26:28follow, and after that we will have a set of rules and procedures running up.
26:34And that probably will also send a signal to everybody that this is the way they will
26:40be dealt with if they try to sabotage or harm the environment here.
26:46And next question to Herman Kelomies, Delphi.
26:53Thank you very much.
26:54This is a question to all three of you about something that the Polish national broadcaster
26:59reported on barely an hour ago.
27:01Let me read to you.
27:02A Russian shadow fleet vessel has circled over a stretch of pipeline carrying Norwegian
27:08gas to Poland in the Baltic Sea, a source in the Polish foreign ministry has told the
27:13outlet.
27:14My question is, has Mr. Tusk briefed you on this?
27:18Have you had a discussion about this?
27:20And is this perhaps a message to this summit?
27:23And a more broader question here is, you talk a lot about robust measures and punishment
27:31of perpetrators and all sorts of sanctions, but do I understand correctly that prevention,
27:38at the end of the day, prevention of these kinds of attacks will not be completely possible
27:43basically ever?
27:44Well, I mean, the first lesson to draw from all kinds of situations like this is to stay
27:52cool, calm and collected.
27:53And if an event has happened one hour ago, and yes, we have been informed about it, but
27:58not directly yet by Prime Minister Tusk, we assess the situation, we look at the facts
28:05and then base our activity on that.
28:09The more serious point, I think you're absolutely correct.
28:13You cannot prevent all actions of sabotage.
28:17And that's why it's so important that you have varying sources of, say, energy, or you
28:23have various sources of data cables that you can convert to, because that's the key in
28:28these types of situations.
28:31And I think that's one of the most important reasons why we also do an assessment of critical
28:37infrastructure in general.
28:40Remember, you have to ask yourself, in these three cases that we've seen in the past year,
28:45how much damage has been done to the general public in terms of energy they're receiving
28:51and in terms of data cables?
28:54Pretty much zero.
28:55That's because we have alternative sources.
28:57But now we need to find out ways, and one suggestion that was made in the room was that
29:02perhaps we should have one of these correcting vessels in the Baltic Sea all the time, because
29:10it takes time for them actually to come into the Baltic Sea.
29:13So many different options, but I don't think I can at least take issue yet with the reported
29:18hit that you mentioned.
29:19I completely agree with the reaction you just gave.
29:23Nothing to add.
29:25A few words that, as already mentioned and as already asked, that it's quite probable
29:34that as in cyber domain, you cannot protect every computer, working station, every plant.
29:44The same probably with critical infrastructure.
29:47You are – the sea is connecting you to the world.
29:50You are neighbor – everybody is neighbor to Russia, China, whoever.
29:54So this probably can be influenced that something will happen, but the ability to react and
30:05to have this kind of automatic system in the place, exchange information, and also afterwards
30:11the ability to repair.
30:12As Alexander mentioned, that up to this today, we are – we have been able to react this
30:20way that our economies or our everyday lives or resilience has not been hampered.
30:27But if you look at the energy economy, environment, everything, it can be influenced much stronger.
30:33So it's the ability to react, also mop it up and deal later who has done and why.
30:40These are two abilities that we need.
30:42So one is NATO's operation running, countries running this kind of deterrence operation.
30:48The second one is our joint ability with European allies and everybody in the world to repair
30:53everything much faster so that society will not be influenced by this kind of attacks.
30:58You know, when you face new challenges, you react to them.
31:00I mean, a good example is 2007 when there was a cyber attack on Estonian banks.
31:08I mean, those kinds of cyber attacks, we don't even flinch anymore because our systems are
31:13so advanced that we're able to fight them off.
31:16And this is what also protecting critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea is about.
31:20You live and learn.
31:22You detect, you try to prevent, and then you repair and cause minimal damage to society.
31:27Marja Steenroos, Finnish Broadcasting Company.
31:34Hi.
31:35Could you be more detailed on the operation which could happen on the Baltic Sea?
31:42What kind of a protective operation, presence, measures, there will be on the Baltic Sea?
31:49For example, how many military vessels to prevent further damage?
31:56Yeah.
31:57No, very good question.
31:58We've been, of course, for the past two years already, as you know, allies have stepped
32:03up military patrols near critical infrastructure.
32:08Baltic Sentry will encompass more ships, maritime aircraft patrols, submarine satellites, and
32:15surveillance drones.
32:16I'm not going into detail how many ships exactly because that might differ from one week to
32:21another, and we don't want to make the enemy any wiser than he or she is already.
32:28What matters is that we employ the right military assets in the right places at the right time
32:37to deter future destabilizing acts.
32:40And again, we will make use of the full range of possibilities we as an alliance have, as
32:46I just mentioned, including remotely operated vehicles.
32:51And we will also employ the latest technology here, including, as I mentioned in my statement,
32:55the drones.
33:00And last question to Reuters.
33:07Anna Kauran for Reuters News.
33:09I would like to ask you if you believe that the recent cable-cutting incidents in the
33:15Baltic Sea had for a purpose to hinder the Baltic power decoupling plans?
33:24I would say that no matter the reasoning behind it, they won't hinder Baltic decoupling, desynchronizing
33:32from Russia's greed.
33:34Because the date has been set, it's in place, and the Baltics are also prepared for emergency
33:43decoupling if needed.
33:45But as I said, the date is set, and we are ready.
33:49But usually in energy matters, you have plans, and after that you have reserve plans.
33:57And after that, you have reserve plans for reserve plans.
34:00And you hope that they work.
34:01And in the Baltics, all the energy people on private sector, stateside, have been working
34:08very hard with desynchronizing from Russia's greed at the start of the February, and also
34:14the Central European greed on the Polish side and the European side have been also working
34:19on that.
34:20So I would say that if the intent or the possible outcome would be to hamper decoupling from
34:27Russia's energy greed, it probably won't work.
34:31We have reserves and reserve plans, but it can cause some kind of inconvenience, which
34:40probably could be intended message that Baltics and Nordics do not live well and do not work
34:50well without Russia's embrace.
34:53That probably could be the idea behind of this kind of messages.
34:56But coming back to the original saying that we will decouple anyway and desynchronize
35:03from Russia's greed, because Russia is not a reliable partner in these matters.
35:08Yeah, and let me perhaps just leave you with the following thought.
35:13When we're talking about attacks on critical infrastructure, at the end of the day, it
35:18really doesn't matter who did it and why they did it, because the consequences are always
35:24the same.
35:25It's damage.
35:27And our job is to try to prevent that damage from hitting society in general.
35:33The problem is that sometimes to the east of us, we're dealing with a country which
35:39has a combination of incompetence and indifference.
35:43And when that happens, I think we have to be always prepared and therefore try to stay
35:50at least one step ahead.
35:53Let me assure you that sometimes we will succeed, but there will be cases, again, when we will
35:59not succeed of being one step ahead.
36:02And in that case, we will again take lessons learned and deal with it hopefully as we did
36:09on the 25th of December.
36:14Thanks.