The 77-km Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was closed in October last year due to damage. The Hong Kong-flagged container ship NewNew Polar Bear has been identified by Finnish police as the main suspect.
The NewNew Polar Bear is accused of dragging its anchor to the seabed, cutting across the Balticconnector gas pipeline and other critical infrastructure, including three optical cables that have also been severed.
In November last year, Finnish police said it was too early to conclude that the Baltic gas pipeline failure was an accident or intentional act. For its part, Beijing is committed to fully cooperating in the investigation related to Balticconnector.
According to the Finnish presidential office, in an online meeting on January 10, Mr. Tap Can Binh and Mr. Sauli Niinisto acknowledged the constructive dialogue on the Balticconnector pipeline.
The two leaders acknowledge the constructive dialogue between countries regarding the Balticconnector gas pipeline, Reuters quoted the Finnish presidential office as saying.
The Finnish statement said that the two leaders also mentioned the conflict between Russia and Ukraine as well as the far-reaching consequences of the conflict.
At the same time, the Finnish President Niinisto emphasized China's role in bringing a just and long-term peace.
Regarding the online meeting, Chinese state media revealed that Mr. Xi Jinping praised Finland for its long-term friendship policy with China and thanked President Niinisto for promoting practical cooperation and friendly exchanges.
Mr. Tap Can Binh emphasized that the China - Finland relationship maintains a stable and active trend with cooperation in areas such as forestry, agricultural products, food, information and telecommunications, energy, environmental protection, science and technology education as well as winter sports, " bringing practical benefits to the people of our two countries".
Mr. Xi Jinping said that China wants to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with Finland, support multilateralism, protect free trade and actively contribute to world peace and stability.
According to Xinhua News Agency and CCTV, Mr. Xi Jinping emphasized: China is ready to cooperate with European countries, including Finland, to look at each other from a strategic and long-term perspective, as well as maintain and develop China- Europe relations.
The Balticconnector gas pipeline incident occurred just one year after the Nord Stream explosion in Baltic Sea.
The Nord Stream sabotage disrupted the main gas supply route from Russia to Europe during the heightened tensions after the conflict in Ukraine.
In October 2023, the operator of Balticconnector said it needed at least 5 months to repair the pipeline in the Baltic Sea.
