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The strongest storm in years passed at the Baltics last week inflicting significant damages to infrastructures of the countries of the region - from Poland up to Finland. As though under the influence of this elemental force, the event on the regional political arena started to develop in a stormy way, threatening to expand into true diplomatic tempest. Attention of the international press was drawn by barbarous incidents in Moscow where three Polish citizens - two diplomats and one journalist, have suffered from hands of "hooligans", seemingly from the FSB. Meanwhile, in the north of the Baltic region not less dramatic events took place, which were unfortunately, practically unnoticed by the international mass media.
"The lost face" of the Russian Air Forces
On Friday, August, 5, 2005, at 2:23 PM Finnish time, the Russian Military transport plane Tu-134 flying from St. Petersburg to Kaliningrad, has intruded the Finnish air space, on depth approximately of one kilometer. After flying 17.5 km above the Finnish territory, the plane has returned to the Russian air space and continued its way to Kaliningrad. The posts of the Finnish Coast Guard have noticed the intruder from the moment of its take-off in Saint Petersburg and observed its flight above the Finnish territory. Right after the incident the message on this occurrence has been handed to press, and Finland's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Erkki Tuomioja demanded explanations from his Russian colleague Sergey Lavrov.
Meanwhile, the Russian side took its usual position for such cases: the press-secretary of the Russian Air Forces, Aleksandr Drobishevsky has officially denied the Finnish claims. The statement of the Minister of Defense of Finland Seppo Kaariainen on the incident taking place in his country's air space had no affect on the position of the Russians. Almost a week later, on August, 10, the abovementioned Drobishevsky was compelled to admit officially the fact of violation of the Finnish air border. As he said, the command of the Air Forces of Russia already started investigation of the case. However, representatives of the Finnish Ministry of Defense with whom I managed to communicate last week are very skeptical about Drobishevsky's statement. As they said, most likely there will be no real investigation, and similar incidents will take place in the future.
Violation of the Finnish border on August, 5 became a part in a long chain of similar incidents during the last years. On April 29, 2005, Finland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs already sent a note of protest to Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to this document, during the last year Russian military planes invaded Finnish air space no less, no more than 20 times (sic!). Just for the period from October, 2004 till May, 2005, 11 similar incidents took place. But the Russian side did not recognized officially even one of these occurrences.
The sources in the Ministry of Defense of Finland note also that the Russians behave in similar way towards the neighboring Estonia. Last incident when the Russian spy-plane intruded the air space of this country happened on July, 1, 2005. There were no apologies to the Estonian side from the Russians. It appeares that the Russians' behavior sometimes borders with frank impudence. For example, last year, during one of such violations of the Estonian air space, Russian military plane patrolled above the Estonian capital Tallinn for several minutes.
Typical Russian answer to the Finnish criticism
The last impudent violation of Finland's sovereignty has made official Helsinki to rethink seriously the character of mutual relations with Moscow. Coterie of the Finnish President reminds, that several months earlier the Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov have promised to the Finnish colleague,
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Prime Minister of Finland, Matti Vanhanen |
Matti Vanhanen to change the procedures of control over the flights of the Russian Air Forces in the area of the Gulf of Finland, and to avoid new violations of the Finnish border.
Presently the official Helsinki declares that Fradkov's promises are worth nothing. True control over the situation is in the hands of the President's Administration, and of the Russian Ministry of Defense, and as a matter of fact that means two persons - the President Putin and the Minister of Defense Sergey Ivanov.
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President of Finland
Tarja Halonen |
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The last incident is considered in Helsinki to be a display of reaction of the Russian President, reacting thus on support by the Finnish president Tarja Halonen of the position of the Baltics concerning the frontier issue and the national minorities. Interestingly, Putin and Halonen have met in Finland, in Kultaranta residence of the Finnish President , at the beginning of August, and after this meeting the Finnish leader dared to support openly the Baltic colleagues in their major dispute with Moscow. Intrusion of the Russian military plane into Finnish air space became one of the Russian "answers".
Recent incidents with beatings of the Polish citizens in the Russian capital are mentioned in Helsinki in this connection. The Finnish believe that these acts represent a tendency, for, to their mind, the beating of the Polish diplomats and the journalist began as a reaction to support by Warsaw of the Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko, and of the representatives of the Belarus opposition.
In the same manner, after the decision of the Estonian parliament (Riikogu) not to ratify the frontier agreement, invasion of the Russian military plane into the Estonian air space took place. As the Finnish diplomatic circles consider, Moscow promptly returns to its old imperial politics of solving foreign policy issues by demonstration of military force.
Helsinki – Moscow: what's next?
During all the six decades since the WWII, the official Helsinki adhered to pronouncedly neutral position in relation to any authority in Moscow. For this reason, Finland still is not a member of the NATO bloc. Moreover, the Finnish economy is in significant dependence on deliveries of the Russian energy carriers, and also on the transit of the Russian goods through the Finnish territory, and export of the Finnish goods to Russia. For this reason till the present moment the Finnish leadership tried not to involve international institutes in the developing crisis of relations with Moscow. Nevertheless, in June, 2005, European Commission expressed its support to Finland's demands on immediate discontinuance of any violations of its air space.
After the recent flight of the Russian military plane above the Finnish territory, the number of those members of the Finnish leadership, who support the idea of applying with a complaint to the highest authorities of the European Union, has increased. And the support of the Baltics to the Finnish cause is guaranteed.
Moreover, Helsinki is going to toughen its resistance to the construction of oil terminals at the Russian coast of the Gulf of Finland. This issue was one of the key questions at the last meeting between Halonen and Putin. The Russian side, on a completely groundless base, accuses Finns of financial support of the Russian ecological NGO's, trying to silent the ecologists by blaming them in serving of foreign interests. The Finnish President's coterie declares, that in case of the escalation of the crisis in Finnish-Russian relations, Helsinki can use its Presidency in the European Union (in 2006) for rendering pressure on Moscow.
Besides the questions of violation of the Finnish border, and construction of the Russian oil terminals on coast of the Gulf of Finland, Finns are going to draw attention of the EU to violation of the rights of Finno-Ugric minority, living on the territory of Russia. In May, 2005, Finland already acted as the initiator of sharply negative resolution of the European Commission on this issue.
During informal conversations, Finnish politicians express hope for change of the general atmosphere in Europe, which will make pressure on Moscow possible. In particular, the Finns think that Gerhard Schroeder's predicted defeat at the forthcoming elections of the chancellor of Germany should have a positive effect. Predictably, in case the candidate of the Christian Democrats wins, the strategy of Russia on decomposition of the EU by creating bilateral unions on economic basis will be considerably undermined.
Related items:
From Communist Leader to Opponent of Moscow (08.08.2005)
Russian Espionage Activity Against Estonia Continues (08.08.2005)
Russia Prepares for Economic Conquest of the Baltic Countries (07.08.2005)
Intelligence Activity of the Russian Secret Services in Baltic Countries (23.04.2005)
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