Lithuania accused Russia of violating international maritime laws, after seizing a fishing boat belonging to Lithuania. The Juros Vilkas had a crew of 30 people on board when it was forcibly apprehended. Russia argues that the Juros Vilkas had been illegally fishing in Russian waters. but Lithuania denied those accusations. The EU protested the incident, siding with Lithuania and said Russia was trying to provoke its Baltic neighbors. The seizure took place on the 18th of September, during a time of heightened tensions between Russia and the EU. At the moment, the boat is in the Russian port Murmansk. The relation between Russia and the EU has been tense ever since Russia took over Crimea, in March. The EU had immediately sanctioned Russia, targeting its oil company, firms and banks.
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Lithuania’s foreign ministry spokeswoman said that the boat had been in international waters when it was seized by Russia. She also stated the boat was monitored by satellite. An EU spokesman declared the following: “The European Union calls on Russia to respect its international obligations and to immediately release the vessel”. Russia maintained its position by stating the fishing boat belonging to Lithuania had been seized after having been discovered in Russia’s exclusive economic waters. The Lithuanian government admitted the boat had been in an agreed Russian area, but also stated it had the right to be there. On October 7th, a court in Russia was supposed to decide the fate of the boat and crew. It had been declared that the crew, made up of both Lithuanians and Russian nationals had not been detained. It remained on the boat, in the port of Murmansk. The Russian court handling the case set a $3 million tariff for the safe return of the Juros Vilkas boat to Lithuania, a decision that will be contested, owners in Lithuania saying the tariff is more than twice the value of the boat itself.
Lithuania is not the only Baltic country angered by Russia. Estonia had also accused Russia of abducting an Estonian security official, on the border. Russia admitted to having detained an Estonian security official. They also said he had been on a spying operation on Russian territory. However, any political reasons were ruled out by the head of the Estonian security police. The foreign minister of Estonia described the incident as “very disturbing”: “We expect to receive all manner of help and co-operation necessary from Russia in solving this case and bringing the Estonian citizen back to Estonia”.