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Russia's Baltic border proposal and Moldova's EU pact
Summary
A retrospective on 22 May 2024, when a Russian defence proposal on the Baltic Sea alarmed NATO neighbours.
What did Moscow intend when its Ministry of Defence proposed, on 22 May 2024, to adjust Russia's maritime border in the Baltic Sea unilaterally? The proposal prompted comments of concern from Baltic members of NATO, including Finland and Lithuania. The Ministry of Defence later retracted it.
The episode belonged to the wider state of Russia–NATO relations on that date. The reaction from Finland and Lithuania showed how quickly a unilateral change to a sea boundary drew concern among neighbours that were NATO members. The retraction came later, after those comments.
A regional backdrop
On 21 May 2024, the day before, Moldova became the first non-European Union signatory country to sign a security and defence pact with the EU. Under the pact, Moldova was to receive help in strengthening and managing its borders, and the two sides were to cooperate on cybersecurity and on combating disinformation.
Also on 21 May 2024, a court in Saint Petersburg sentenced Anatoly Maslov, a 77-year-old hypersonic missiles expert, to 14 years in prison for state treason.
Why it mattered
Taken together, these reports from 21 and 22 May 2024 show a region in which border questions, security arrangements and treason cases were all in play at once. The Baltic proposal drew a rapid response from NATO members, while Moldova moved to tie its border management and security cooperation to the EU.
