Russia deployed a fighter jet in Nato airspace this week after Estonia tried to inspect a so-called shadow fleet tanker passing the EU-member’s economic area, Estonia’s foreign minister Margus Tsahkna said.
The spokesperson for Russia’s foreign ministry did not mention the incident in a weekly briefing nor was a question asked, although a video purportedly of the flyover has appeared widely in Russian media.
The jet briefly breached Estonian airspace on Tuesday, prompting Lithuania to urge caution among European countries.
“The likelihood of a serious escalation is increasing with each step” after the Russian jet entered Nato airspace, “signalling that such tankers in the Baltic Sea are being protected by Russian military forces,” Lithuanian prime minister Gintautas Paluckas said.
The Russia-bound oil tanker named as Jaguar refused to obey orders when the Estonian navy attempted to check its paperwork, Estonian officials said. The vessel was followed by Estonian naval ships and aircraft on Tuesday over concerns it could pose a threat to undersea electricity cables.
The vessel entered Estonia’s exclusive economic zone without a flag “and we responded in the proper way,” Mr Tsahkna said at a Nato foreign ministers’ meeting in Turkey on Thursday. “What is different and important is that the Russian Federation sent a fighter jet to check the situation and this fighter jet violated Nato territory for close to one minute.”
The incident came just days ahead of Thursday’s meeting of top US and European diplomats in Antalya, Turkey for expected peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
Nato jets responded before the situation de-escalated, Estonian officials said. The foreign ministry summoned the Russian envoy in Tallinn.
Estonian authorities stopped short of boarding the vessel by force after it ignored radio instructions. It was allowed to travel outside the Baltic nation’s exclusive economic zone, the Estonian navy said.
The incident was widely reported by Russian media based on an unverified video circulating on Telegram. The international shipping database Equasis says the ship in question has been called the Argent since earlier this year, and that it sails under the flag of Guinea-Bissau. Equasis does not list a means of contacting the entities that operate the vessel.
European nations have increased inspections of vessels in the Baltic Sea since last summer, after a spate of incidents where commercial ships damaged underwater gas pipes, power lines and internet cables.
The Baltic Sea is a key route for the Russian oil trade, a major source of revenue for the Russian government despite western restrictions.
If Russia is “tampering” against the Estonian navy “it’s precisely because our sanctions are biting,” French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in Turkey. – Bloomberg
