Putin's aide: London orchestrating Baltic tensions to derail US-Russia talks

Russian presidential aide Nikolai Patrushev has accused the United Kingdom of deliberately escalating tensions in the Baltic region to obstruct efforts aimed at normalizing relations between Russia and the United States, as well as negotiations on Ukraine.

Russian media reported Patrushev’s statements, which he made in an interview with National Defence magazine on March 12, per Caliber.Az.

“NATO's European wing continues to pursue its policy of blocking Russia in the Baltic region, neglecting the restoration of dialogue between Moscow and Washington,” Patrushev stated.

“I believe that the current aggravation of the situation is being orchestrated by London, which is interested in disrupting steps to normalize US-Russian relations, as well as negotiations on Ukraine,” he added.

Patrushev argued that recent decisions made at the European Union summit, which endorsed large-scale militarization across Europe, indicate that military threats in the region will only continue to grow.

“The forecast of the situation in the Baltic makes it possible to draw attention to the deliberate fomentation of regional tensions by the naval forces of the European countries of the alliance. There is a high probability of further intensification of threats to the Russian port infrastructure and freedom of navigation,” he warned.

He further claimed that NATO is engaging in cyber warfare against Russian maritime operations, allegedly targeting navigation systems to create abnormal situations, including those that could lead to accidents.

“Since the end of last year, as part of Operation Baltic Sentry, additional forces have been transferred to the Baltic allegedly to counter the increasing frequency of sabotage. Experts are inclined to believe that NATO countries themselves are the organizers, sponsors and perpetrators of the increasing number of abnormal situations on merchant ships, failure of underwater infrastructure,” Patrushev asserted.

“According to available information, their navies are planning to intensify terrorist activities against Russian underwater pipelines, tankers, and dry cargo ships,” he concluded.

By Tamilla Hasanova