Russia will not allow NATO to turn Baltic Sea into its lake, says senior diplomat #Moscow will not allow #NATO to turn the #Baltic Sea into its own lake, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander #Grushko said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel. "The use of words such as 'control' is further proof of the North Atlantic Alliance’s desire to turn the Baltic Sea into a NATO lake, a metaphor they like to use in public statements. However, this will not happen for many reasons, with the main one being because Russia will not allow it to happen," he pointed out. Grushko noted that Russia would do everything to "protect and safeguard" its interests. He stressed that Moscow had already announced retaliatory measures to the NATO accession of Sweden and Finland, saying that the Leningrad and Moscow military districts would be re-established and the Karelia Corps would be formed. "We would like the Baltic Sea to remain a sea of cooperation and interaction, as well as a waterway for trade," Grushko added, noting that there were "no prospects" for the implementation of NATO’s plans. According to him, Russia will closely follow the rhetoric of its adversaries. "However, as for specific measures, they will have to be determined depending on the activities that NATO and individual NATO countries carry out in the Baltic Sea," Grushko concluded. At a press conference following a Helsinki summit of the Baltic nations, NATO Secretary General Mark #Rutte announced the launch of the Baltic Sentry mission in the Baltic Sea, aimed at protecting underwater infrastructure, including energy and data cables. The mission’s launch came in response to the damage to an undersea cable connecting Finland and Estonia.

#Cables and #Pipelines. It includes both Gas and Oil Pipelines

#Houthis damage four undersea #cables between #Europe, #Asia The Yemen-based Houthi rebels from the Ansar Allah movement have damaged four international underwater cables in the Red Sea which connected Asia, Europe and Africa, Israel’s Globes newspaper reported. According to its information, Houthi attacks in the Red Sea damaged four submarine communication cables between Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Djibouti in East Africa. The attacks triggered "serious disruption of Internet communications between Europe and Asia, with the main damage being felt in the Gulf countries and India." According to experts, the damage is not critical because other cables are still functioning. The newspaper said that it may take at least two months to restore the damaged cables.