Estonia's detention of a Moscow-linked oil tanker last week is a provocative step that poses a threat to shipping and security in the Baltic Sea, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said today, quoted by Reuters.
The spokeswoman said that Russia will react proportionately to cases of aggression against its ships.
Zakharova recalled that on Monday an amendment to Estonia's legislation came into force, authorizing the Estonian naval forces to act more firmly against foreign ships, according to which they will be able to “intercept, redirect or otherwise force merchant ships to change their course, and if necessary, even sink them, TASS reports.
“In the event that such actions are directed against Russian "Our country will respond proportionately to the risks and threats posed by Estonia as a NATO member state," the spokeswoman said.
Estonia detained the tanker "Kivala", which has been subject to European Union sanctions since February and is part of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet", a term used by Western countries for ships they say Russia uses to circumvent international sanctions. These ships are usually not registered or insured in the West, Reuters noted.