Defense secretary Antti Häkkänen (kok) commented on the breakage of the Baltic Sea communication cable after the meeting of EU defense ministers on Tuesday in Brussels.
Häkkänen did not speak directly about sabotage, like his German colleague Boris Pistorius earlier in the morning you filmed a cable break.
However, Häkkänen also admitted that “we investigate these with the seriousness that there is an external actor involved. So this is not just being investigated as a natural disaster,” Häkkänen said earlier in the morning.
In the afternoon’s media conference, the Minister of Defense did not take a position on the flag of the country under which the ship that may have caused the damage sailed or what is known about its operations.
Häkkänen said that the responsibility for the investigation rests with Sweden, with whom Finland is in contact.
Learned from the past
The Minister of Defense said that a lesson has been learned from the Balticconnector gas pipeline breakage a year ago and that the activities of the Finnish authorities have been intensified. In addition, the “pure doctrine” interpretation of international maritime law has been relaxed.
The new interpretations of maritime law mean in practice that it is no longer possible for a ship to escape from the waters of NATO countries if it has damaged the critical infrastructure of some countries. This happened a year ago in the case of the Chinese ship Newnew Polar Bear, where the ship damaged the Balticconnector gas pipeline and was able to leave, and the investigation was delayed.
Häkkänen said that there are several methods by which measures can be taken.
“There can’t be a situation where you just walk away with the flag up,” Häkkänen said in Brussels.
However, it is known from previous cases that in cases of damage to critical undersea infrastructure, finding the culprit is challenging, as well as punishing the perpetrator.
Kauppalehti asked Häkkäni if we now have to get used to the fact that cables are cut, the culprits are not caught, and if they are caught, no consequences will befall them.
According to Häkkänen, the time to point out the perpetrator is only after the investigations have been completed.
“It is traditionally challenging, as has been seen in some other events,” he said.
Supporting Ukraine
The most important theme of the meeting of defense ministers was supporting Ukraine.
According to Häkkänen, the EU must be ready to find new solutions so that Ukraine’s position for a just peace is better than it is now.
The Minister of Defense said after the meeting that most countries want to find solutions to support Ukraine.
Among the brakemen, Hungary is the most important, accompanied by Slovakia. In the speeches of these countries, the “peace speech” that was in line with Putin’s intentions was also emphasized on Tuesday.
Last Friday, the Chancellor of Germany was also at the “Peace thing”. Olaf Scholzwhen he discussed the Russian president Vladimir Putin with on the phone.
Scholz’s contact with Putin has been wondered at – at least in corridor conversations, because the call was not informed in advance as usual.
Häkkänen commented on Scholz’s phone call by emphasizing the importance of Western countries’ coordination and common message now that Putin is waiting for a message on whether Western countries will run out of political stamina.
According to Häkkänen, only Ukraine can decide when it is time for a just peace.
“If there is an equation that we start reducing the amount of aid and talk about peace, that is exactly the message that Putin wants to hear,” Häkkänen said.
The biggest gift of the Defense Ministers’ Meeting to support Ukraine was the preparation of a future financing mechanism that would allow Ukraine to buy more weapons.
On Tuesday, Häkkänen did not agree to predict what the future financing model might be.
According to Häkkänen, the key thing is that the EU does not wait for the future solutions of the US, which can have a direct impact on European security.
Häkkänen underlined that the EU’s alternatives must be direct financial measures so that Ukraine can get weapons quickly, and “which channel the European and global potential of the defense industry”.
“This whole thing needs to be considered in the EU as soon as possible,” Häkkänen said.
In practice, the consideration of the future funding model remains for the new commission to consider and for the leaders of the EU countries to decide.
Häkkänen also told about the meeting that, in order to strengthen the defense capabilities of the EU countries, 19 countries signed an integrated air and missile defense initiative on Tuesday, with which the EU’s joint capabilities will begin to be developed.