Commenting on the planned tightening of sanctions against the "shadow fleet" of Russian tankers, Silina said that a strong and collective response was needed on this issue. She noted that Russia could use international law as a hybrid weapon with its "shadow fleet", as it is already doing with migrants on the Belarusian border.
As one of the arguments why the Russian "shadow fleet" should be treated with particular caution, the Latvian head of government cited the fact that the ship detained this week in the Baltic Sea and accused of damaging submarine cables in the Baltic Sea was found to have spying equipment unusual for cargo ships.
Silina stressed that attacks on critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea region must be stopped, and Latvia has already coordinated its actions with NATO, including with the alliance’s new members Finland and Sweden, to achieve this. The PM expressed the hope that the forthcoming European Union (EU) level meetings would soon result in a common reinforcement of sanctions against the Russian "shadow fleet".
Asked what kind of sanctions should be imposed, Silina said that the movement of Russian shadow fleet vessels in the Baltic Sea should be stopped. Referring to the cable damage case this week, the Latvian prime minister praised the reaction of Estonia and Finland and drew attention to the fact that the Baltic Sea countries must be able to intercept ships that do not respect international law in these waters and could pose a threat to our critical infrastructure.
"We need to find a way to prevent so many ships that could damage our critical infrastructure from crossing the Baltic Sea," said Silina.
She acknowledged that the position of individual Member States such as Hungary and Slovakia on these issues can complicate joint EU decision-making, but this is not the first time such challenges have been faced.
"We really hope that we will be able to coordinate these sanctions across Europe, because we have already coordinated other sanctions well so far. (...) We will find our own way,' said Silina in an interview with the BBC. At the same time, the politician did not deny that the effectiveness of sanctions could weaker in the absence of full EU consensus.