The Kremlin announced on Wednesday that Russia will defend its ships in the Baltic Sea using all available means. A recent failed Estonian attempt at seizing a tanker showed that Moscow can respond with harsh action if necessary.

Estonia

On Thursday last week,

It was reported that Moscow briefly sent a jet fighter into NATO airspace above the Baltic Sea, during an Estonian effort to stop a Russian oil tanker believed to be part a "shadow Fleet" that defied Western sanctions against Moscow.

The Estonian public broadcaster ERR said that Russia, which is the second largest oil exporter in the world after Saudi Arabia detained an oil tanker owned by Greece on Sunday after it left an Estonian harbor.

The release of the vessel by Russia after its detention has fueled concerns about possible shipping disruptions in busy Baltic Sea lanes that transport oil.

Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, told reporters that Russia can do the following to protect its interests in shipping on the Baltic Sea against what Moscow described as hostile actions from EU members states and Britain.

As the recent events related to an attempted pirate attack on a tanker showed, Russia is quite capable of responding harshly.

Peskov stated that Russia is ready to use all means at its disposal to respond in the future to incidents of this nature within international law. He also said there are many options available to Russia to respond.

On Tuesday, a spokeswoman from the Russian Foreign Ministry was present.

After Estonia failed to seize a tanker bound for Russia, she accused NATO of taking aggressive actions that hindered freedom of navigation in the Baltic Sea. (Reporting and writing by Dmitry Antonov, editing by Andrew Osborn/Guy Faulconbridge).

(source: Reuters)