Columnists for Steigan argue that any attempt by Western countries to block Russia’s access to the Baltic Sea could provoke a large-scale war.

According to the authors, proposals to close Russia’s route into and out of the Baltic Sea are dangerous and could become a trigger for conflict across the entire northern region.

They warn that if the Baltic Sea turns into an arena of direct confrontation between Russia and NATO, the crisis could quickly spread beyond that area. The Barents Sea, the Norwegian Sea and Norway’s coastline could all be drawn into the same chain of escalation.

In mid-May, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys called on NATO to demonstrate that the alliance is capable of breaking through to Kaliningrad. In his view, NATO has the necessary resources for such a scenario.

Russia has repeatedly noted increased NATO activity near its western borders in recent years. The alliance describes these measures as deterrence, while Moscow has voiced concern over the growing military presence in Europe. The Russian Foreign Ministry has said it remains open to dialogue with NATO, but only on an equal basis and provided the West abandons further militarization of the continent.